This bird has one of the smallest ranges of any toucan along the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, and a small portion of Panama. It is not rare there, but has hardly ever been seen in captivity. Through special permits from the Government of Panama, the DWA received several birds, and the world’s first captive breeding took place in Dallas in 2008.
Though found from Mexico to Brazil, this primitive bird has never been common in captivity. Chicks were hatched in California in the 1970s, but the species had long vanished from US collections by the time several were imported from Panama by the DWA in 2009. The large eggs are a beautiful shade of blue.
Always extremely rare in captivity, this subtly beautiful toucan is common in its limited range in Colombia and Venezuela. Several arrived at the DWA through the cooperation of the Venezuelan conservation organization, FUNZPA.
Forty years ago, this magnificent monkey appeared on its way to extinction, both in its native Atlantic Coastal Forest of Brazil and in zoos as well. The wild population fell to less than 600, and in zoos, the number of deaths exceeded births. Over the next decade, improvements were made in zoo management, so that from a low of around 75, a self-sustaining population, today numbering nearly 500 world-wide, has been established. Through the reintroduction of captive-bred animals and habitat preservation, there are more than 1,000 in the wild.