Mitu mitu

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	GALLIFORMES	CRACIDAE

Scientific Name:

Mitu mitu

Species Authority:

(Linnaeus, 1766)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Alagoas Curassow
Spanish	–	Paují de Alagoas, Paují Menor

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Extinct in the Wild ver 3.1

Year Published:

2012

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Butchart, S. & Symes, A.

Contributor/s:

Silveira, L.

Justification:
The last (unconfirmed) sighting of this species was in the late 1980s and it is now Extinct in the Wild. There are two captive populations and, an apparently suitable forest remnant has been identified for future reintroduction efforts.

History:

2010	–	Extinct in the Wild
2008	–	Extinct in the Wild
2004	–	Extinct in the Wild
2000	–	Extinct in the Wild
1996	–	Extinct in the Wild
1994	–	Extinct in the Wild

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	Mitu mitu has been almost certainly extirpated from Alagoas and Pernambuco, north-east Brazil. A report from north Bahia is unreliable. It went unreported between the mid-17th century, when found in Pernambuco, and 1951, when rediscovered around São Miguel dos Campos, Alagoas. Since the early 1970s, there are records from four forests in this region. Numbers were probably as few as 20, even in the 1960s (del Hoyo 1994). The most recent reports were of hunted individuals in 1984 and perhaps 1987 or 1988.
Countries:	Regionally extinct: Brazil
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	A captive population, initially established in Rio de Janeiro in 1977, numbered 44 in 2000. There were 130 birds in two aviaries in 2008, some 35% of which are hybrids with M. tuberosum.

Population:

A captive population, initially established in Rio de Janeiro in 1977, numbered 44 in 2000. There were 130 birds in two aviaries in 2008, some 35% of which are hybrids with M. tuberosum.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	It was apparently confined to lowland primary forest, where it was known to take fruit of Phyllanthus, Eugenia and "mangabeira". It lays two or three eggs in captivity, with one female breeding for the first time when she was two years old (del Hoyo 1994).
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The extinction of this species was forecast almost as long ago as its discovery. Ceaseless clearance of its lowland forests, chiefly for sugarcane, and poaching have brought it to the verge of extinction. Sugarcane demand increased dramatically in the late 1970s, owing to a government programme to increase fuel alcohol production, hastening the destruction of remaining habitat. Pesticide-use in cane fields surrounding extant forest may also have had a detrimental effect. The last remaining area of reasonably extensive lowland forest in the region was virtually entirely cleared within six months in the late 1980s, while continued hunting served only to exacerbate the species's decline.

Major Threat(s):

The extinction of this species was forecast almost as long ago as its discovery. Ceaseless clearance of its lowland forests, chiefly for sugarcane, and poaching have brought it to the verge of extinction. Sugarcane demand increased dramatically in the late 1970s, owing to a government programme to increase fuel alcohol production, hastening the destruction of remaining habitat. Pesticide-use in cane fields surrounding extant forest may also have had a detrimental effect. The last remaining area of reasonably extensive lowland forest in the region was virtually entirely cleared within six months in the late 1980s, while continued hunting served only to exacerbate the species's decline.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	Conservation Actions Underway CITES Appendix I and protected under Brazilian law. A private captive population, supplemented from the wild, was established in 1977, and divided between two well known aviculturists in 1999 when it numbered 44, with 10 eggs in artificial incubation (Atualidades Ornitológicas 93: 11). A 30 km² forest remnant in Alagoas, Usina Serra Grande and Usina Leão and another site, Fazenda Petropolis, in Usina Santo Antonio have been identified for potential reintroduction attempts (Atualidades Ornitológicas 93: 11, Grau et al. 2003).Other efforts, in 1983-1985, to capture wild individuals for a captive-breeding population failed. Searches of remaining forest fragments in 2001 failed to find any trace of the species (Silveira et al. 2003). The genetic composition of the captive population has been studied by Mercival Francisco and a studbook created (L. F. Silveira in litt. 2012). Conservation Actions Proposed Continue with the captive-breeding programme in order to reintroduce the species. Ensure the integrity of forest at Usina Serra Grande and Usina Leão. Engender pride in the species to lower the risk of hunting once reintroduction is begun.

Conservation Actions:

Conservation Actions Underway
CITES Appendix I and protected under Brazilian law. A private captive population, supplemented from the wild, was established in 1977, and divided between two well known aviculturists in 1999 when it numbered 44, with 10 eggs in artificial incubation (Atualidades Ornitológicas 93: 11). A 30 km² forest remnant in Alagoas, Usina Serra Grande and Usina Leão and another site, Fazenda Petropolis, in Usina Santo Antonio have been identified for potential reintroduction attempts (Atualidades Ornitológicas 93: 11, Grau et al. 2003).Other efforts, in 1983-1985, to capture wild individuals for a captive-breeding population failed. Searches of remaining forest fragments in 2001 failed to find any trace of the species (Silveira et al. 2003). The genetic composition of the captive population has been studied by Mercival Francisco and a studbook created (L. F. Silveira in litt. 2012).

Conservation Actions Proposed
Continue with the captive-breeding programme in order to reintroduce the species. Ensure the integrity of forest at Usina Serra Grande and Usina Leão. Engender pride in the species to lower the risk of hunting once reintroduction is begun.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2012. Mitu mitu. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 21 May 2013.
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