Pairi Daiza never stops amazing us. After welcoming giant pandas, koalas and even walruses, the famous wildlife park located just 1.5 hours from Lille has just reached a new milestone. With the birth of two Lear's macaws, a species classified as endangered, it becomes the only zoo open to the public in the world to have successfully bred all three existing species of blue macaws.
An exceptional birth for an endangered species
The two chicks were born on July 1st and 3rd, 2026 and are already under constant surveillance. Why such excitement? Because the Lear's macaw is one of the rarest parrots in the world. Classified as "Endangered" on the red list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), only a small semi-arid region in northeastern Brazil is home to what remains in the wild today. Very few specialized centers manage to breed them.
A feat made possible after an initial setback
The story
The story is all the more beautiful because this young macaw couple had experienced an unsuccessful first attempt last year, when their only egg was accidentally broken. The caretakers then decided to completely overhaul their approach. To recreate the natural breeding conditions for the species, they placed the three other males in the park in neighboring aviaries. Without being able to make direct contact with the couple, their simple presence was enough to recreate the atmosphere of a wild colony. A few months later, two fertile eggs were laid... before giving birth to two perfectly healthy chicks.Round-the-clock monitoring
When the young parents damaged their nesting box, the Pairi Daiza teams preferred
had to transfer the eggs to the park's nursery to maximize their chances of survival. Today, the two little ones are hand-fed five times a day and monitored constantly. Their famous blue plumage won't make its appearance for several weeks. Beyond this birth, the caregivers see above all a wonderful opportunity to learn. Each observation helps enrich knowledge about this extremely rare species and share it with other conservation centers around the world.A new chapter for Pairi Daiza
Thanks to these two births, Pairi Daiza has become the first public-access conservation center to have successfully bred the hyacinth macaw, the Spix's macaw, and now the Lear's macaw—the three known blue macaw species on the planet. A major breakthrough for preserving this species, but also wonderful proof that zoos can play an essential role in conserving biodiversity.
Address: Domaine de Cambron, 7940 Brugelette, Belgium