The macaw on whom the films Rio and Rio 2 were based had died for bad heart conditions

Some really sad news. Presley, the Spix's Macaw, who was rescued some 12 years ago from a small pet cage in the USA and was repatriated to Brazil has just died. He was the macaw on whom the films Rio and Rio2 were based. For most of the time since his repatriation he was in the care of Bill and Linda Wittkoff at Lymington. He was in a very poor condition when he arrived and they improved his condition enormously, but recently he seems to have developed a heart condition. He was exported to the USA from Brazil via Paraguay and the UK in the late 1970s so he was at least 35 years old. Unfortunately his sperm was not vital, but it was hoped he could be used to stimulate a female, who was treated with artificial insemination. More news on this soon. In addition I heard very recently that the distinguished Brazilian wildlife photographer, Luiz Claudio Marigo, had unfortunately died after returning from a run. Luiz filmed and photographed the last Spix's Macaw in the wild before it disappeared. His death will be a great loss to wildlife conservation.