Rio One and A Half- edited

by VPVPVP

Athos and his friends must travel to Rio so that Levi, Aurora and D'Artagnan, who are members of three very endangered species, can breed and have chicks to propagate them but things go wrong when they are kidnapped by smugglers with cats who also threaten another rare macaw family. Athos and the others must escape and get the smugglers caught but that is easier said than done

9. 9- Off to Rio

Chapter 9- off to Rio

A few hours after Francisco had left, it was the evening. Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had just had their tea and then their evening Bible study and prayer, and had committed the potential opportunity to go to Rio for the sake of three of their pets, D'Artagnan, Levi and Aurora. During those hours, Francisco had contacted the five owners' lecturers about what he had talked about with Susan and company and why they had to go to Rio, while Susan and her sister and three cousins had discussed about going to Rio. While their five owners had been doing their evening prayers, D'Artagnan, Aurora, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, Phoebe, Levi, Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset had listened in. They all wore worried looks on their faces, especially D'Artagnan, Aurora and Levi. Then after Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake had left to prepare for bed, Susan was left alone sitting at the desk, her hands buried in her face. It had been quite a difficult day today, with a lot to take in especially about three of the macaws. Susan then sat back in her chair and sighed. It was then that she was alerted by eleven dark forms cloaked in shadow: seven macaws, two cockatoos, a cat and a greyhound. Susan looked at the group of pets as they had come to sympathise with her.

"Hey, you lot," said she in a tired voice as she placed a hand on the back of Dash's head. She also looked at the eleven parrots, all of which had concerned and uncertain looks on their faces.

"I know how difficult the next few days are going to be, my pets," said Susan, "But the decision has to be made as soon as possible. I did discuss this with Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake a while ago and we've decided that we'll make the decision in the morning."

Athos gave Susan a slight stern glare. He looked at D'Artagnan, Aurora and Levi for a second and then back at Susan.

"What is it, Athos?" asked Susan, "Is it about the possibility of giving up D'Artagnan, Aurora and Levi?"

Athos just remained silent and continued staring at Susan with a stern glare. Then Porthos, Aramis and Phoebe changed their expressions to a stern glare as well. Travis and Sunset just remained concerned. Susan then reached out an arm and Athos climbed onto it.

"Let me guess, are you saying that you would like us to go to Rio?" asked Susan. Athos continued to give Susan a stern glare before nodding his head a few times. He then glanced at Porthos, Aramis, Phoebe and then at D'Artagnan, Aurora and Levi and then back at Susan. Susan read his body language and arrived at a conclusion.

"Oh, so you're saying that if we have to give Levi, D'Artagnan and Aurora up, you would like us to give the rest of you macaws up as well?" asked Susan. Athos replied with a silent nod. Porthos, Aramis and Phoebe confirmed their agreement by standing next to Aurora, D'Artagnan and Levi while Dash, Veggie, Sunset and Travis looked on.

"But you're our pets, Athos," said Susan, "And the rest of your species aren't as critically endangered as D'Artagnan, Aurora and Levi's."

Athos continued glaring at Susan, implied that he wanted to be given up alongside those three macaws regardless. Susan then smiled slightly.

"So, let me get this straight," she said, "You want us to go to Rio, take you lot with us and when D'Artagnan, Aurora and Levi are given to conservation, you would like to be given to conservation too?"

Athos nodded. Porthos, Aramis and Phoebe also showed they agreed with nods. Veggie, Dash, Sunset and Travis all smiled at Athos's decision. Then Susan, seeing the determined looks on the seven macaws' faces and seeing that Dash, Veggie, Travis and Sunset seemed to agree with them, finally smiled.

"Alright, we'll do it," she said much to the macaws' silent cheers, "Tomorrow morning, I'll tell Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake that we've made the decision together and then we'll tell Francisco that we have decided that we'll definitely go to Rio."

Susan then placed Athos back onto the table and stood up.

"It's settled then," she said, "And it will be for the good of D'Artagnan, Aurora and Levi's species as well. After all, they are ultra rare and I don't want to hold up the ornithologists' team's project in saving their species, especially the glaucous macaw, from extinction. Come on then, let's go upstairs and go to bed. I'm getting tired."

And with that, Susan and the eleven pets left for upstairs and bed.

Next morning

Susan did as she had told the eleven pets. She had told Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake that she had made the decision that they will definitely go to Rio with the pets for the sake of D'Artagnan, Aurora and Levi's species, to which the other four owners had agreed. Susan then contacted Francisco about the decision and Francisco, pleased about this, set to booking Susan and company's flight and arranging everything, as well as contacting Tulio and his team back in Rio that Susan has decided to bring D'Artagnan, Aurora and Levi over to Rio. Then in the coming weeks after that day, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake prepared for the trip. They packed everything they will need and when the day finally arrived, they boarded the plane with Francisco and they took off to Rio, Brazil. Soon, the plane on which Susan and company were on touched down in Rio de Janeiro's airport and a while after that, they were on their way to Tulio's Aviary in a jeep Francisco had hired. The pets including Veggie, Dash, Travis and Sunset, for they had decided to come as well, were all in the trailer in five cages. D'Artagnan and Aurora were in one, Athos, Porthos and Aramis were in another, Phoebe was in a third, Levi, Travis and Sunset were in a fourth, and Veggie and Dash were in the fifth. Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake were in the cockpit, with Francisco driving. Susan was applying sunscreen onto her arms while Lucy was blowing a little handheld fan into her face to cool herself down.

"Boy, it sure is hot here," said Lucy.

"Yeah, it does sometimes get very hot here in Brazil," said Francisco, "We have quite different weather from London, you know."

"Oh, we've sometimes had especially hot summers with temperatures sometimes souring into the thirties," said Susan, "A friend of mine once told me that those temperatures were comparable to those of Spain and the Mediterranean."

"It seems that Europe sometimes does see very hot temperatures then," said Francisco. Susan and Lucy nodded in agreement. On the back seat, Blake was taking on the surroundings. Rio was an awesome sight. On the right of the road they were driving down was a beach with its sandy white-brown sand. The beach was dotted with dozens and dozens of people, most of which were tourists. These people were sunbathing, playing volleyball or other games, or paddling in the water of the ocean that lapped against the beach. Most of the paddlers were children and they had smiles on their faces as they splashed each other. Other kids were building sand sculptures like castles while most of the adults were talking or relaxing. Many had beach mats and parasols up. Blake smiled as he watched the tourists have fun on the beach.

"I think after we've got our macaws to the conservation centre, I would like to go to the beach," he said.

"We will after we've dealt with the most important thing, Blake," said Francisco.

"What's the name of the beach?" asked Jake.

"It's Copacabana Beach," said Francisco, "I often went there with my wife and two sons when they were kids. It's a lovely beach; it is though sometimes we have to be aware of trouble."

"It seems lovely anyway," said Drake, "Especially the sand."

Lucy then looked out of the other side of the jeep and saw a group of Brazilian people dancing. These people were dressed in colourful outfits of feathers and fruit.

"What are those people doing?" she asked. Francisco looked at the group of dancers.

"They're rehearsing for Carnival," he replied, "It's Carnival season, and they're practicing for it."

"Carnival?" repeated Susan, "It's said to be one of the most spectacular parades in the world, isn't it?"

"Yes," said Francisco, "It's truly an amazing sight. So many colours and sequences of elaborate dances involved. My family have been to Carnival five times in the past."

"I would love to see that," said Susan with a smile.

"So would I," said Lucy. Blake, Drake and Jake nodded in agreement.

Behind the triplet brothers in the trailer, the eleven pets were also admiring the scene. Athos had his head poking out of his cage through the bars, and was relishing the Brazilian breeze through his feathers while Porthos smiled when he saw a few brightly coloured parrots fly high above the city.

"Birds, like us," he sighed admirably.

"I wonder if scarlet and the similar green-winged macaws are common here," said Athos, "I would love to meet some of my species. The only green-winged macaw I had ever met back in London was the one owned by the jeweller on the next street. However, we rarely met."

"Speaking of birds like us," said Aurora, "I had never even met another Spix macaw like myself all my life. Neither has D'Artagnan met another Lear's macaw or Levi another glaucous macaw."

"It's unsurprising, Aurora," said Aramis, "Your species is extremely rare but this trip is an opportunity for you three to eventually meet some macaws like yourselves."

"Guess so," said D'Artagnan.

"At least I'm not the last glaucous macaw," said Levi.

"Well, you're the last male of the glaucous macaw species," said Phoebe who sat alone in her cage. Due to her being a hyacinth macaw, she needed plenty of space. Levi gazed at her.

"She's right, Levi," said Athos, "Remember what Francisco said."

"The female glaucous macaw his team had found is the only other glaucous macaw they have," said Sunset. Levi sighed.

"You know," he said, "I'm not sure if I'm going to make a good impression on the female. We'll have to see when we arrive at Tulio's Aviary."

"It'll be fine," said Travis, trying to reassure the concerned glaucous macaw, "Trust me."

"I guess so," muttered Levi in partial agreement. The other part was occupied by worry. It was then that Sunset heard the sounds of singing in Brazilian Portuguese above her, Levi and Travis's cage. The Major Mitchell's cockatoo looked around and then up at the top of the cage. The other pets including Dash and Veggie also looked up and saw a pair of birds, one of which was yellow with an orange beak and legs and a green, white and pink bottle cap on its head. The other was a pudgy grey, white and red bird, and the pair was singing and dancing. Then when they noticed Sunset and then saw Phoebe in her cage, they began to chat to each other in Brazilian Portuguese. Athos tipped his head to one side.

"Well, whatever that canary and cardinal are talking about," he said, "I can't understand a word they are saying."

Then Sunset began to try and talk to the two birds, which were a canary and a cardinal.

"Excuse me, you two," she said, "Do you speak English?"

"We can't speak Portuguese," added Travis. Then the canary and cardinal stopped chatting in Brazilian Portuguese and laughed.

"Of course we can speak English, pretty birdie," said the cardinal cheekily and in a rapper-like voice. Sunset shook her head in slight shock. Then the canary landed beside Sunset and examined her closely.

"Hey, Pedro," he said with an intrigued smile, "I've never met a cockatoo like 'dis one before. Look at her colourful crest."

"What sorta cockatoo is she, Nico?" asked the cardinal. Sunset rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"I'm a Major Mitchell's cockatoo," she muttered. The canary and cardinal perched beside her.

"A Major Mitchell's cockatoo?" repeated the canary, "We've never heard o' one before, much less seen one."

"Wha's one of them?" asked the cardinal. Sunset then sighed and looked at Travis.

"Put it like this," she said, "If you've heard of a sulfur-crested cockatoo, the Major Mitchell's is similar in shape and crest except that it is salmon pink and its crest is pinkish, red and yellow striped rather than solid yellow. That's what I have."

When Sunset mentioned sulfur-crested cockatoo, the canary and cardinal flinched in disgust.

"What's wrong?" asked Travis.

"Did you say 'sulfur-crested cockatoo'?" asked the cardinal with a frown. Sunset nodded before turning curious.

"Why the negative reaction?" asked she.

"We've met a 'orrible, 'ORRIBLE sulfur-crested cockatoo before," said the cardinal darkly, "His name was Nigel and he was a foul... fowl."

"Yeah," said the canary with a look that was mixed with both anger and fright, "He was mean, he was. He tortured birds and was the stuff of nightmares."

"We've never heard of this Nigel at all," said Travis, "And if you think I'm an abusive sulfur-crested cockatoo, I'm certainly not like that."

"You probably ain't," said the cardinal, "But Nigel certainly was. He's dead now, anyway. Blu told us that he sent 'im flyin' into that plane's propeller when Nico an' I asked about him."

Sunset and Travis flinched harshly when the cardinal said this. It was then that the canary, whose name was Pedro, noticed the eleven macaws looking at him and his friend.

"Hey, Nico, look at dis," he said, "Why are all these macaws with the two cockatoos?"

Athos sighed and rolled his eyes.

"It's because three of us are being taken into conservation," he said. Then Pedro and the canary named Nico flew up to him and examined him.

"Wow, a scarlet macaw," said Pedro with intrigue, "There aren't many of those red birds around here at all."

"But green-winged and blue-and-gold macaws certainly are common," said Nico when he saw Porthos. Pedro then saw Phoebe and then turned his gaze from her to Aramis who was in the same cage as Athos and Porthos. Then Pedro turned his gaze back to Phoebe.

"And you must be a BIG hyacinth macaw, I presume?" asked the cardinal.

"I am yes," said Phoebe. Pedro then turned to Aramis.

"And I'm a great green macaw," said Aramis before Pedro could ask. Nico looked at him up and down.

"But... I initially thought you were a military macaw, boy," said the canary.

"Military macaws are similar to Aramis's species," said Athos, "But Aramis is definitely not a military. He's a great green or Buffon's."

"I see," said Nico. He then began to look at the other macaws.

"And wha' other macaws are present?" he asked. Then when his eyes landed on Aurora, he shook his head in disbelief.

"What, I thought baby bird Jewel hated cages. Wha's she doing in one? I dought she was wi' her love-hawk Blu and their three lil' babies Carla, Bia and Tiago," said Nico. Pedro then looked at the surprised Aurora and said, "Wait, Nico, this ain't Jewel. Look at her crest. Jewel does not have pigtails."

Aurora sighed.

"It's because I'm another Spix macaw," she replied, much to Nico and Pedro's surprise.

"Another Spix macaw?" gasped Nico incredulously, "Bu-but I thought... Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago are the last Spix macaws alive. How can there be another?"

"There are also two more Spix macaws that had been recently found," said D'Artagnan, "So that makes eight."

"Interestin'," said Nico intrigued.

"I guess Blu and his family might not be last the blueys after all," said Pedro. He then turned to D'Artagnan. "And what sorta macaw are you, a mini-hyacinth macaw?"

"He's a Lear's macaw, in fact," said Phoebe, "Which is another endangered species."

"A Lear's macaw?" repeated Pedro as he looked at D'Artagnan, "We've never seen a Lear's macaw before."

"D'Artagnan's species is extremely rare," said Aurora, "And so is Levi's species, the glaucous macaw. In fact, Levi is the last male of his species."

And with that, she pointed to Levi who was peering out of his, Travis and Sunset's cage and looking at the pair. Nico and Pedro turned round and looked at Levi closely.

"That's interestin'," said Nico, "Blu told me that the glaucous macaw is completely extinct."

Pedro then turned to gaze at Porthos. "And the blue-throated macaw which is like your species but with a blue throat patch, aren't dat common either."

"Blue-throated macaws?" asked Porthos.

"Dey're quite a rare species of macaw, more so than your species, the blue-and-gold," said Pedro, "We haven't seen many of them birdies around here at all. In fact, we've only ever seen one family of blue-throated macaws in the jungle of Rio."

"Are they endangered too?" asked Porthos.

"I don't know but it seems likely," said Nico. Then the canary and cardinal duo began to move onto something else.

"So, tell us, why are you lot here?" asked Nico as he rested against Pedro's back on the top of Phoebe's cage, "Come for Carnival, I bet?"

"Oh no, that's not the reason," said Athos, "Three of us are going to meet three birds of the opposite sex. D'Artagnan and Levi are going to meet a female of their species while Aurora is going to meet a male Spix macaw."

Intrigue crossed Nico and Pedro's faces.

"Ah, two are goin' to meet a gu-u-url, while your Spix friend is gonna meet a boy, eh?" crooned Pedro cheekily.

"Yes, that's true," said Aurora. Then Pedro said, "Well, I remember our friend Blu when he told us that he was gonna meet a pretty lil' girl and we gave him some advice on courtship. Would you mind if we give you a lil' tip on courtship too?"

"Er... well, um," said Aurora. Nico then perched next to her and said, "Oh, come on, it'll help you a bit. Right, here we go."

Pedro then perched on the other side of Aurora and said, "You, bein' a girl, the advice is gonna be quite de opposite to Blu's 'cos the genders are switched. Now the firs' thing ya gotta do is wait for the male to make the first move."

"Brazilian ladies respond to confidence," said Nico. Aurora tipped her head to one side in confusion.

"Okay?" she said, "But I'm not from Brazil, though but males have to show confidence?"

"Yeah, usually it's the male that does the courtin'," said Nico, "Which is what we gotta tell your Lear's and glaucous macaw friends in a minute."

"We've already heard that," said Levi.

"So is it always the males that make the first move?" asked D'Artagnan.

"Yeah," said Nico. Just then Athos interrupted.

"Please, let D'Artagnan, Aurora and Levi deal with that by themselves when we come to it, okay?" he said. Nico and Pedro looked at the scarlet macaw.

"Are you sure?" asked Pedro.

"Yes," said Athos firmly.

"Alright, but remember, it's usually the males that makes the first move," said Nico.

"Absolutely," said Pedro. Just then, Veggie said, "Who are you guys talking to?"

Nico and Pedro turned and when they saw Dash and Veggie looking at them, especially Veggie's cat eyes, they screamed and backed away.

"Whoa, whoa," cried Athos, "It's okay! Veggie's harmless."

"B-b-b-but don't ya realise what species that furball is?" cried Nico.

"He's a cat," added Pedro as he looked terrifyingly at Veggie, "Looks at those mean teeth, those claws! He could make a meal out of us any moment."

Veggie laughed slightly at this.

"That is true," he said, "But I've never killed a single bird, fish or mouse in my life. I don't like the taste of meat, anyway."

Nico and Pedro calmed down and looked at Veggie in surprise, though they were still wary of him.

"Are you sayin' your vegetarian?" asked Nico. Veggie nodded.

"But cats and birds are bitter enemies," said Pedro, "They always are."

"Not always," said Veggie, "There are some cats that don't eat birds at all, though such cats are few and far between."

Nico and Pedro tipped their heads to one side in confusion.

"Now dat is indeed very unusual," said Nico.

"He's never eaten a bird his entire life, not even meat from a chicken," said Dash.

"Yes, I HATE the stuff," said Veggie.

"Interestin'," said Nico. Then Pedro felt that it was time to go.

"Oh, we'd better be off," he said, "Our clubbers will be expecting our return. I'll hopefully see you lot again. Let us know how your courtship goes. It's nice to meet ya, anyway, including you, unusual veggie cat."

And with that, Pedro left, followed by Nico.

"Remember, you three rare birdies," said the canary to D'Artagnan, Aurora and Levi, "In courtship, it's usually the males that make the first move."

And with that, he followed his cardinal friend and the two eventually flew out of sight. Veggie smiled as he saw the pair leave.

"Well, that's put a smile on our faces," he said.

"Yeah," said Dash.

"They are comical," said Athos. Then he turned to face the cockpit as the group felt the jeep move again, "Anyway, let's focus on what we've got to face."

The other ten pets turned and sat in their cages.

Soon, the jeep drove down a road flanked by a series of trees to a building. The building had a large sign on its right on which a toucan logo was stuck in the centre. Then after finding a parking space and pulling up in it, Francisco, Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake all got out of the jeep. They then unloaded the five cages containing the eleven pets from the trailer. As they did that, Drake opened Dash and Veggie's cage so that the greyhound and cat could stretch their legs. Veggie and Dash were glad to be out of their cage and had eagerly jumped out. Blake also allowed Travis and Sunset to leave their cage as well to have a fly around. However, Levi remained in the cage. Then the group began to make their way to the building which was Tulio's Aviary. However, as they approached the entrance, Francisco told Susan and company that Dash and Veggie cannot enter the building as Veggie's presence could unintentionally scare the birds inside. Thus, Susan told Veggie and Dash to wait outside and be good, much to Veggie's disappointment. Travis and Sunset also decided to accompany the cat and greyhound while the others were in Tulio's Aviary. Then Francisco and the others entered the building.

As they passed through the doors, Francisco began to explain to Susan, Blake, Drake, Jake and Lucy, who had the seven macaws in the four remaining cages, the building and the work that he and his team did.

"Welcome to Centro de Conservaçāo Ambiental, which in English is 'Centre for Environmental Conservation'," said Francisco with his arms stretched out to gesture to the five owners the building, "Commonly known as Tulio's Aviary for Tulio is our leader and boss."

"Whoa," gasped Susan in awe. Lucy, Blake, Drake, Jake and D'Artagnan, Aurora, Athos, Porthos, Aramis and Phoebe also looked around with eyes wide with amazement. There were dozens of birds dotting the inside and with them were several ornithologists at work. Some of the birds were kept in cages with bandages or other medical dressing applied to them.

"This is our headquarters of the Blu Bird Sanctuary," explained Francisco, "It is where we treat injured birds and nurse them back to health before releasing them back into the wild. It is also where we keep extremely rare birds for breeding purposes as you'll see soon."

"So basically it's like a bird hospital?" asked Blake.

"Exactly," said Francisco, "We also look after birds too injured or unfit to return to the wild, such as macaws that can no longer fly due to their wings being badly damaged, so this place is also a permanent home for such birds."

He then showed the five owners some of the birds still being nursed back to health.

"It is vitally important that these birds are taken care of as much as possible," said Francisco, "As you can see, some of these had been rescued from smugglers."

"Smugglers?" asked Lucy.

"Yes," said Francisco with a frown, "Smuggling was a frequent problem we had in our jungle and it is one of the major factors that negatively affect the population of any animal, particularly endangered species, and often, especially when the smugglers don't show any care or regard to their targets' wellbeing, those poor animals are injured or even killed."

"That's often the case, isn't it?" asked Blake, "All those cruel humans care about is the money they are going to get from selling them."

"That's very true, Blake," said Francisco as he watched a female ornithologist check a parakeet whose wing was in a cast.

"Since then, we have set up this patch of land as a sanctuary for the wildlife around Rio," added Francisco, "Especially the invaluable family of five Spix macaws: Blu, Jewel and their three chicks Carla, Bia and Tiago. We've named the sanctuary after Blu."

"Oh, I see," said Drake impressed, "That's nice."

Then Jake noticed something on one of the walls of the building. It looked like a laser eye.

"What are those devices?" he asked. Francisco followed his gaze.

"They're lasers," he said, "We've had burglar detector equipment installed into the building since the theft of Blu and Jewel months ago. We have lasers, carbon dioxide detectors, heat sensors and also cameras to monitor the building at night while most of us are absent."

"Oh, right," said Susan intrigued, "Have you faced thefts often?"

"Not like the one involving Blu and Jewel's kidnap," said Francisco, "But anyway, let's have a look at some of the bird casualties we've managed to rescue."

He led the group to a group of macaws that had just been rescued and were receiving treatment. Among them was a hyacinth macaw to Phoebe's surprise.

"We've found these birds over the course of a few days," said Francisco, "They're just recovering from their injuries and will be released back into the wild as soon as they are fully healed."

Susan then looked at one of the macaws, which was a scarlet macaw like Athos. However, this macaw did not look very happy at all, and glared at Susan with hostile eyes. Susan backed away from the scarlet macaw's look.

"What's up with this one?" she asked. Francisco looked at the scarlet macaw as it glared at him with angry, distrusting eyes.

"I think she is impatient and can't wait to be released, Susan," he explained, "Some of the birds here are like that, sadly. That one's aggressive as is the great green macaw and the blue-and-gold macaw, so don't put your fingers anywhere near her or any of those other birds."

Susan looked at the scarlet macaw sympathetically before moving on. Athos then looked at the scarlet macaw as Susan pushed his cage along.

"I hope you'll not be here for much longer," he said, trying to cheer up the angry looking scarlet macaw up. However, the only response he got was a massive hiss from the female scarlet macaw and a furious glare. Athos recoiled at the macaw's response.

"She's definitely not happy here," he said to Porthos and Aramis.

"Maybe she doesn't like being in a human's place?" asked Porthos.

Francisco continued leading Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake along when he heard his name get called. In response he turned round and saw a familiar man walk towards him and hug him.

"Tulio," said Francisco, "I'm glad you're here."

Susan and company smiled as they watched as the two men broke the hug. Francisco then led the man, who was Dr. Tulio Monteiro, to introduce Susan and company to him.

"This is Susan and her sister Lucy and their three cousins Blake, Drake and Jake," said Francisco, "They've come from London, UK."

And with that, Tulio introduced himself to the five owners and shook their hands. Susan and company also introduced themselves as well.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Dr. Monteiro," said Susan.

"Please, call me Tulio," said Tulio with a smile. Suddenly, a swarm of birds flew in and perched onto his head and arms.

"Whoa," said Lucy with an amused smile, "You sure seem to be many of the birds' favourite doctor."

"Oh, yes I am," said Tulio, "I'm like their Big Mamma bird."

"The majority of the birds love him, you five," said Francisco with a smile. Then after the birds had left Tulio, he then turned and saw the five owners' seven macaws.

"So you've brought your Lear's, Spix and glaucous macaw to meet their future mates, I suppose?" he asked.

"We have, yes," said Susan and with that, Aurora, D'Artagnan and Levi appeared and looked at Tulio as he leaned down and examined them with a smile.

"Wow, those three macaws are pretty handsome and beautiful," he said. D'Artagnan blushed slightly at the compliment, while Levi gave no reaction and Aurora just smiled humbly.

"So, where are the two other Spix macaws, the female Lear's macaw and the female glaucous macaw?" asked Jake. Tulio looked at him.

"They're all in the place where we tried paring Blu up with Jewel," said he, before a frown formed on his face, "Those four proved to be a real challenge to bring in much like Jewel was."

"Really?" asked Susan. Francisco then came forward.

"Especially that male Spix macaw," said he "I was one of the ornithologists that had found him and his sister but when we caught and caged them, the male gave me a right slashing down my arms as I handled him."

And with that he showed Susan, Lucy, Blake, Drake and Jake his forearms. The forearms looked scarred with dots of normal skin present, evidence of his struggle against the aggressive macaw.

"Good grief," said Susan in shock.

"He also attacked me when I tried taking his sister out of the chamber to prevent the two from inbreeding shortly after we realised that they were brother and sister based on their DNA testing but thankfully I managed to escape in time with only a few scratches," said Francisco, "And because the male was so aggressive in defending his sister, we decided to leave the two in there."

"Were the Lear's and the glaucous macaws aggressive and hard to handle too?" asked Jake.

"The glaucous macaw was," said Tulio, "She managed to catch my face twice with her talons as she viciously writhed when we tried carrying her to the breeding chamber. She didn't half inflict a couple of nasty scratches and draw some blood. They've healed up now but the scratches she had inflicted on my face were painful."

As he said third, Levi began to quiver.

"That glaucous macaw's fierce?" he muttered, "Oh, boy."

"And I hope that male macaw isn't too aggressive, either," muttered Aurora nervously, shuddering at the scars on Francisco's arms. Then Francisco turned to look at Aurora, D'Artagnan and Levi and smiled.

"So, shall we put those three into the habitat with their future mates and see if they will breed?" he asked. D'Artagnan, Aurora and Levi looked up nervously. It was time to meet what will be their future mates.