The Municipal Zoo of La Paz received a blue fronted macaw, Iya, but on arrival the staff noted that the bird had no feathers on her chest or abdomen. They realized that this parrot, like so many other parrots in captivity, had plucked out her feathers due to poor care, poor nutrition and the stress of being in confinement .Although very sad, this is known to be very common when these birds are kept as pets.

It seemed that the sad and lonely times were not to end here for Iya. Iya was not able to relate to the other parrots, and her naked appearance caused the other birds to ignore her. Her lack of feathers also made it very difficult to adapt to Lap Paz’s cold climate. She spent her days alone and enduring constant harassment from the other parrots she shared a cage with. After doing everything possible to restore Iya’s psychological health, and taking into account that Iya was far from her natural habitat (la Paz is at 3600m altitude!), the zoo staff decided to relocate Iya to Parque Machia. One more move for Iya, this time hoping that she would be able to recover something of the life she was denied when her home became a cage.

Shortly after arriving Iya showed signs of improvement; she stopped plucking her feathers out and found a friend who appeared to have undergone similar traumas, as she also had no feathers - Cleo. Iya now spends her days freely touring the bird area, feeling the sun, the refreshing rain and temperate climate that her new home provides, along with the joy of feeling that she is finally accepted. This is also how she met her partner, Mathias, another blue fronted macaw. These two spend all their time together, grooming each other, sharing food, making their nests (eggs have been spotted on more than one occasion) and having the most natural life possible because of their circumstances. Iya is now happy, knowing that she will never again be alone.

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