Keeping Endangered Parrots Safe in a Hurricane
As part of a 50-year quest to save the species, biologists tended to the birds in a hurricane-proof aviary.
When Hurricane Irma started barreling toward Puerto Rico, people across the island launched into their storm preparations. Edwin Muniz and Tom White were among them, but they had a somewhat different plan for dealing with the storm than most, seeing as they also had to ensure the safety of a bunch of bright-green individuals covered in feathers. That’s because their jobs involve protecting 230 endangered Puerto Rican parrots.
The species, which has been protected for five decades, is the only parrot found on U.S. soil. the , red-foreheaded birds because of their chattiness. Muniz, of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), called the parrot "an icon" of the island.
