Birds get new wings at Brazil rehab center

Seropédica : Not a single wing flutters in the Seropedica aviary near Rio de Janeiro, where aras and others parrots are learning how to fly again after they were rescued from traffickers.

Nearby, monkeys, turtles, boas and even alligators are also being nursed back to health at the IBAMA treatment center, just a 90-minute drive from Rio.

The state-funded entity takes care of wild animals that were hunted, wounded or domesticated, getting them back in shape so they can return to their natural habitat.

Some parrots bear the marks of maltreatment, while others say "Ola" (hello) repeatedly -- a sign they were domesticated.

In order to strengthen bird wings atrophied from years spent in a cage, veterinarian Taciana Sherlock exercises the animals by placing them on her arm and then shaking it up and down.

The majestic blue and yellow ara she is training strains to spread its wings. Some of its feathers were clipped during captivity to limit its mobility, and it doesn't seem ready to take off on its own just yet.

The birds are also encouraged to take flight using two perches set at a distance from one another, with food on either side.

"This is a flight school! We train them so they can be ready to live in the wild. We also have to train them to identify predators and find food," the veterinarian explained.