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Macaw
Mountain operates under a permit from the Honduran
Department of Forestry as an educational
zoological park.
Macaw Mountain, winner of the 2004 Honduras Tourism Excellence Award, has also been profiled in major U.S. publications, such as Audubon Magazine (article) and the Washington Post (article).
The
Park and Reserve is privately funded supported solely
by admission fees and purchases made by our local
and international visitors. |
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Our Park
History
of Macaw Mountain
The history of the birds of Macaw Mountain began on the Caribbean island of Roatan
in the 1980s. Roatan resident and North American conservationist and bird lover,
Mandy Wagner, began rescuing parrots and toucans out of devotion to these intelligent,
social creatures. By the 1990s, her private collection had grown to more than
40 birds representing 15 species. |
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US biologist,
businessman and long-term Roatan resident, Lloyd Davidson, inherited
the birds in 1994. By 2000, the collection had grown to more
than 100 birds comprising more than 20 species, and Davidson
purchased a beautiful tract of land in Copan with the birds in
mind. After 2 1/2 years of detailed designing and building, he
and his business partner, Pat Merritt, moved the birds by charter
airplane in July 2003 and opened Macaw Mountain several months
later.
Why
is the Park a business and not a charity?
In a part of the world where insufficient financial resources are prioritized
to address human needs, we believe that creating a business to keep tropical
birds in their natural habitat provides the only realistic means
for their long-term care. We welcome partnerships with like-minded
sanctuaries to assure a place for tropical birds in all of our futures.
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Old
Growth Forest
The Park’s owners were lucky enough to purchase one of the last old growth
forests close to Copan. Macaw Mountain’s nine-acre nature reserve has an
extraordinary forest including mahogany, indio desnudo (gumbo limbo), chico zapote,
Spanish cedar and fig trees. Elevated wooden trails and decks offer spectacular
viewing of the park’s pristine river, year-round freshwater springs, huge
boulders and sloping canyon walls. |
Tropical
Garden
We have augmented the tropical forest by reintroducing native species and some
tropical ornamentals into this natural botanical garden. Blue Morpho butterflies
are a delightfully constant presence along our streamside trails. Noisy flights
of wild parakeets land in the canopy to feed. In some cases we simply let nature
take its course and have been enchanted by what shows up. |
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Nature
offers us seasonal surprises like our annual colony of 30-40
oropendola oriole nests above the horse stable, or the wild
orchids near the spring.
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Coffee
Since part of the property had been a coffee plantation, we kept several areas
of producing coffee plants to show visitors the process of coffee production.
In addition to the Park, we run a high altitude coffee farm (left) 45 minutes
up
from
the Park. To learn more about our coffee farm, Finca Miramundo, click
here. |
Our
Park > Our Birds · Photo
Gallery · Facilities · Events · Wild
Birds
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