A flock of Puerto Rican parrots raising the alarm in western Puerto Rico led a federal biologist to one of the island's rarest birds caught in the coils of an invasive snake. Raúl Correa of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) followed the birds' calls through the Maricao State Forest and found a young parrot wrapped by a red-tailed boa high on a bamboo stalk, according to IFLScience.

Correa cut through the bamboo, and the snake let go. The agency described the bird as barely a month out of the nest. After one night of observation for hidden injuries, the young parrot was returned to the forest and was flying with its flock the next day.

The rescue matters well beyond one bird — the species has little margin for losses. The Puerto Rican parrot is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, and every young bird that survives to breed counts toward a recovery effort that has spent more than five decades pulling the species back from the edge.

A Rescue Triggered by the Flock

USFWS shared footage and an account of the rescue on its social media channels this week. The agency described the parrots' calls as frantic, and those calls are what drew Correa, a biological science technician with the Puerto Rican Parrot Recovery Program at Maricao, to the right tree.

"With no time to lose, Raúl cut the bamboo," USFWS wrote, according to a Yahoo News account of the post. "The boa released its grip, and the chick was free."

Published accounts do not say whether the loudest callers were the chick's parents or other members of the flock, and USFWS has not released the exact date of the rescue. What is clear is that the flock's commotion pointed a trained observer to a predation attempt that would likely have gone unseen in the forest canopy.

The snake was captured and euthanized, IFLScience reported. It was sent for diet analysis in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, which could help researchers learn what invasive boas are eating in parrot habitat.

An Invasive Snake in Parrot Country

The attacker was not the island's native boa — it was an invader. The red-tailed boa (Boa constrictor) is an invasive species in Puerto Rico, introduced around the 1990s through the exotic pet trade, according to Popular Science. The species can grow longer than 10 feet, larger than the native Puerto Rican boa, which reaches about 7 feet.

Wildlife managers have watched the invasive snake around the Maricao release site for years. The federal five-year status review for the parrot, completed in March 2023, said red-tailed boas had become more common on the island since 2015, with at least 12 recorded near the Maricao release cage.

The same review described a June 2022 fecal pellet that contained feathers, a radio collar and a parrot band, evidence that a boa had eaten a parrot, though the species of boa was not identified. At that time, reviewers said the invasive boa's overall impact on the parrot was yet to be determined.

That uncertainty is why this rescue is useful. It is a documented case of an invasive boa catching a young Puerto Rican parrot in the wild, and the snake's stomach contents and diet data may add to the evidence managers need.

A Small Population with Little Room for Losses

The Puerto Rican parrot, called iguaca locally, has come back from an extreme low. Only 13 birds remained in El Yunque in the 1970s, and Hurricane Maria in 2017 left just two survivors there, a USFWS official told reporters in 2025.

The recovery program now manages three wild populations in El Yunque National Forest, the Río Abajo forest and Maricao. The 2023 review counted about 260 wild birds in 2022, with roughly 210 at Río Abajo, about 32 at El Yunque and 18 at Maricao, plus more than 533 parrots in captive breeding facilities. More recent counts at El Yunque have risen.

"The wild population is not only growing because of the released groups, but also because of its own strength," said Thomas White, the USFWS biologist in charge of captive-to-wild releases, in 2025, when the El Yunque population reached at least 75 birds.

Predators remain the program's biggest field challenge. The review identified red-tailed hawks as the major predator at every release site, along with feral cats, rats, mongooses and the native boa. Each newly fledged bird is vulnerable during its first months, which is exactly the stage of the parrot Correa freed.

Ways the Public Can Help

The rescue also carries a lesson for pet owners far from the Caribbean. Invasive boas in Puerto Rico and Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades both trace back to the exotic pet trade, and released or escaped snakes have proven extremely difficult to remove once established. Former USGS Director Marcia McNutt made the point in 2013. "Experience has shown that island ecosystems are particularly vulnerable to snake invasions," she said.

Anyone who can no longer keep a pet snake should contact a reptile rescue or a state or territorial wildlife agency rather than releasing it. In Puerto Rico, sightings of red-tailed boas outside captivity should go to local wildlife authorities, who partner with USFWS on the parrot program.

Visitors to Puerto Rico's forests can help by staying on trails, keeping a respectful distance from parrots and nest areas, and never feeding wildlife. Hikers who see an unusual snake should photograph it from a safe distance and report it rather than trying to handle it.

The USFWS has not said whether the rescued bird carries a tracking device, so its fate after release may not be publicly reported. The diet analysis of the boa, and future status reviews of the species, are the next places where this event could show up in the scientific record. Nature World News will report any update the agency releases.

What Readers Want to Know

What happened to the parrot chick?

A red-tailed boa had wrapped around a young Puerto Rican parrot on a bamboo stalk in the Maricao State Forest. A USFWS biologist cut the bamboo, the snake let go, and the bird rejoined its flock a day later.

How did the rescuer find the chick?

He followed the alarm calls of a flock of Puerto Rican parrots, which USFWS described as frantic.

Is the red-tailed boa native to Puerto Rico?

No. The red-tailed boa is invasive and was introduced around the 1990s through the exotic pet trade. Puerto Rico also has a smaller native boa.

How many Puerto Rican parrots are left?

A 2023 federal review counted about 260 wild parrots in 2022 across three forests, plus more than 533 in captivity. The El Yunque wild population has since grown to at least 75.

What happened to the snake?

It was captured, euthanized, and sent for diet analysis with the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez.

How can the public help?

Never release pet snakes, report invasive boa sightings to local wildlife authorities, and keep a respectful distance from parrots in the wild.