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Threatened bird species spotted in Cancun park days after mandatory closure

Cancun, Q.R. — After only a few days of park closure, three birds on Mexico’s “threatened” list were spotted for the first time in years, in Cancun’s Kabah Park.

Alfredo Arellano Guillermo, secretary of Ecología y Medio Ambiente of Quintana Roo says the three Crax rubra (Great curassow) were seen in the park only three days after it was closed to people due to the virus pandemic.

“Three days after the activities for public use in the Kabah State Ecological Park were suspended, the presence of fauna that was impossible to observe on a daily basis is recorded,” he reported.

He said that the three birds consisted of one male and two females, adding that these birds have not been seen in urban areas for years. He added that the hocofaisán crax rubra is listed as an endemic species of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Arellano Guillermo explained that Friday morning, staff from the Institute of Biodiversity and Natural Areas of Quintana Roo recorded the presence of three specimens of hocofaisán crax rubra near the Cancun Museum within the State Protected Natural Area.

In 1995, the state government allocated 41.4 hectares of state heritage land located in SM 53 of the city of Cancun to create the Kabah Park a Protected Natural Area, which is considered one of the lungs of the city.

Earlier this week, a jaguar was caught on a nighttime surveillance camera in the municipality of Tulum wandering past a hotel that has also been closed due to the pandemic.