Found Hatching in a Suitcase, Rescued Parrots Begin New Life

The 24 chicks are growing up at a conservation facility after being seized from a smuggler’s carry-on

Teresa Nowakowski

Daily Correspondent

June 6, 2023



Three of the 24 parrots that were rescued after being smuggled out of Central America RSCF


Earlier this year, customs officials at Miami International Airport heard strange chirping sounds coming from a suitcase. When they opened it up, they found a temperature-controlled cooler with 29 eggs—which were starting to hatch. Already, one small pink chick had broken out of its shell.

Szu Ta Wu, who had attempted to smuggle the eggs through the airport on his trip from Managua, Nicaragua, to Taiwan, said he didn’t know what kind of birds he carried, according to Freida Frisaro of the Associated Press (AP).

As more featherless chicks began to emerge, officials called in Paul Reillo, a zoologist and conservationist at Florida International University and founding director of the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation (RSCF).

Reillo quickly set up an incubator at the airport for the birds, which he identified as baby parrots. The next day, the birds and eggs were transferred to RSCF, where they would be quarantined until they tested negative for pathogens. In just over a week, 26 of the 29 eggs hatched, with 24 ultimately surviving.



More:
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/smuggled-baby-parrots-suitcase-180982307/