The Real Macaw | About | Nature

NATURE takes you to the deepest enclaves of the Amazon for a first-hand look at macaws.

Everyone loves macaws. Playful, intelligent, beautiful, they are the stars of parrot parks and zoos, and the cherished pets of devoted owners around the world. All of which makes them prime targets for poachers, who can make enormous profits from illegal sales of the birds. Thousands are smuggled from the wild each year, and many die in the process.

In the forests of South America, several species of macaw are severely endangered. But there is hope on the horizon. Dr. Charlie Munn, a wealthy American who is also a leading ornithologist and world expert on parrots, has begun a campaign to promote eco-tourism as a means of saving the birds. Employing former poachers as conservationists, and providing locals with the means to start and maintain a trade in tourism instead of smuggling, he’s betting that instead of buying birds, their fans will pay to see them in the wild.

NATURE’s The Real Macaw offers bird lovers the rare opportunity to enjoy these beautiful birds in their natural habitats rather than in pet stores and cages.

Production Credits Print

Television Credits

All sequences in this program, whether filmed in the wild or under controlled conditions, represent authentic behavior.

Narrated by
HOWARD McGILLIN

Produced & Directed by
CAROLINE BRETT

Camera
SIMON ATKINS
GORDON BUCHANAN
MARTIN DOHRN
NICK GORDON
ALASTAIR MacEWEN
MARTIN SMITH

Sound
PAUL PARAGON
NICK ALLINSON

Editor
ALAN MILLER

Sound Editor
GARY McINTYRE

Dubbing Mixer
NEIL HIPKISS

On-line Editor
JON EVERETT

Music Composer
LENNY WILLIAMS

Archive Footage
Superflow Corporation
Environmental Investigation Agency

We acknowledge the kind co-operation of:
The Loro Parque Foundation and Loro Parque
Tropical Nature

Production Manager
WOLFGANG KNOEPFLER

Head of Production
TERESA WATTS

Head of Granada Wild
BRIAN LEITH

Executive Producer
ANDREW BUCHANAN

For NATURE

Series Editor
JANET HESS

Supervising Producer
JANICE YOUNG

Producers
JILL CLARKE
PATTY JACOBSON

Associate Producers
IRENE TEJARATCHI
GIANNA SAVOIE

Production Secretary
KELLY LAFFERTY

Manager
EILEEN FRAHER

Production Manager
JULIE SCHAPIRO THORMAN

Offline Editor
MARK SUTTON

Online Editor
BARRY GLINER
SOUND MIXER
ED CAMPBELL

Series Producer
BILL MURPHY

Executive in Charge
WILLIAM GRANT

Executive Producer
FRED KAUFMAN

A Production of Granada Wild in association with Granada International and Thirteen/WNET New York
This program was produced by Thirteen/WNET New York, which is solely responsible for its content.
© 2004 Educational Broadcasting Corporation
All Rights Reserved

Web Credits

Producer
DANIEL B. GREENBERG
MARY HOPE GARCIA

Art Director
SABINA DALEY

Designers
MICHAEL DIMAURO
KAREN MATTSON
RADIK SHVARTS

Pagebuilding
BRIAN SANTALONE

Writer
DAVID MALAKOFF

Production Artist
RUIYAN XU

Technical Director
BRIAN LEE

About the Writer
David Malakoff is a journalist covering research discoveries and the politics of science for SCIENCE MAGAZINE in Washington, D.C. His writing has appeared in a wide range of venues, including THE ECONOMIST, THE WASHINGTON POST, and ABCNews.com.

Thirteen Online is a production of Thirteen/WNET New York's Kravis Multimedia Education Center in New York City. Anthony Chapman, Director of Interactive & Broadband. Bob Adleman, Business Manager. Carmen DiRienzo, Vice President and Managing Director, Corporate Affairs