According to the Center for Biological Diversity, the earth is currently experiencing a mass extinction of thousands of plant and animal species. If it goes unchecked, 30 to 50 percent of current species could disappear by 2050. Such a loss would devastate the planetary ecosystem. While mass extinctions occurred in prehistoric ages, this one differs in that it is mainly caused by human activities: pollution, deforestation, global warming, and other habitat-destroying influences. Many scientists believe conservation efforts must focus at the local level by repopulating species and changing human behavior. Such efforts require complex support systems consisting of numerous important links. Vanessa Kanaan’s (PhD A’08) work is one example of what can happen when the puzzle pieces all fall into place. 

A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Kanaan attended college in the United States to follow her dream of training dolphins. “I was at a show at SeaWorld, and I was amazed,” she says. “I talked to the dolphin trainers afterward, and they told me that if I wanted to do this, I should get my degree in biology and psychology.” Accordingly, she attended Campbellsville University in Kentucky, then went on to attend Purdue’s doctoral program in animal sciences. (While at Purdue, she finally got to work with dolphins, and other animals, at the Indianapolis Zoo.) When her grandmother fell ill toward the end of her studies, Kanaan returned to Brazil to be with her family and also pursue postdoctoral research.

Kanaan began volunteering at CETAS, a wildlife screening center in Florianopolis, Santa Catarina. There, she discovered a problem. The facility held many species of animals rescued from various situations, mostly related to illegal wildlife trafficking and poaching. One species in particular, the vinaceous-breasted Amazon parrot, had nearly become extinct due to people attempting to raise the wild birds as pets. Unfortunately, when recovered, many of these former pets were not prepared to live in the wild. “They have to be healthy and able to identify food sources, fly continuously, and avoid people,” Kanaan explains. No one had the expertise and resources to rehabilitate them,  so most remained at the shelter indefinitely.

Kanaan requested permission to work with the birds and reintroduce the species into the Araucárias National Park, where it had been absent for 20 to 30 years. “There was never a project like this in Brazil,” she says. “Reintroductions were not well studied.” But Kanaan and her friends convinced the government to allow it, and they established Instituto Espaço Silvestre to help expand the project. 

The program had to release the first set of vinaceous Amazons only four months after starting the rehabilitation process. “It was that or no release,” Kanaan says. She applied the knowledge gained with the dolphins, as well as her Purdue training, and they succeeded, releasing 13 birds in January 2011. Over seven years, Espaço Silvestre has released a total of 83 birds. The scientists continually observe and monitor them and their offspring in the wild.

To ensure success, the program works not only with the birds, but also with the local people. Outreach activities and workshops educate and involve community members in bird monitoring through citizen science, raising awareness. The institute has also established a strong network of local and national authorities, scientists, and others who work closely to help with the program and respond quickly when a bird is in need. Espaço Silvestre has even partnered with local artisans who make clothing and other products highlighting the birds and additional endangered species. The artists keep all of the revenue, generating an economic value to free birds. The project has increased the artists’ income by 62 percent. Over one million people have been reached by the institute’s educational activities and publications worldwide. The birds also benefit from the heightened awareness and have become a symbol of Araucárias National Park.

Over one million people have been reached by the institute’s educational activities and publications worldwide.

According to Kanaan, reintroduction projects require hard work, long hours, and a significant long-term commitment. “We are very young at 7-years-old,” she says, explaining that many programs are still hard at work after 20 years or more. And funding is always a challenge, particularly for labor. Brazilian grants for this type of work do not include labor; thus, volunteers are essential. Meanwhile, the average cost to rehabilitate each bird is around $3,300.

To Kanaan, the result is worth it. “When you see a bird who spent up to 25 years in captivity now flying free — with the skills to live in the wild — it is so rewarding. To see them finding tree holes to nest in and to witness the first baby bird born in the wild is amazing. And to see the community engaged in helping the birds that were locally extinct because of human actions — nothing else matters.”