Endangered Toucan killed with a slingshot, in Tizimín, Yucatán

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In social networks, Yucatecan users have shared a regrettable fact, the killing of an endangered species.

MÉRIDA, Yuc.- The user of social networks Mauris F. announced that in the town of San Pedro Juárez, municipality of Tizimín, an unidentified person or persons acting attacked a toucan with a string and killed it on the spot.

“I feel sadness, anger, and helplessness, to see this beautiful bird in danger of extinction, killed by an ignorant and evil person who certainly deserves a severe punishment, this is truly unforgivable”, Mauris expressed when making this case known.

It should be noted that right there in Tizimín but in August 2020, agents of the Public Security Secretariat arrested Gener CG52, who was carrying a hidden cardboard box in his vehicle, so they thought he was transporting drugs, but it turned out it was a toucan.

One of the most peculiar things about this bird is the fact that it is a monogamous animal and they live in permanent pairs.

In the town of San Pedro Juárez, in Tizimín, they attacked a toucan with a thong and killed it on the spot.  (Photo: social networks)
In the town of San Pedro Juárez, municipality of Tizimín, Yucatan, an unidentified person attacked a toucan with a slingshot and killed it on the spot. (Photo: social networks)

The driver did not have any document that guarantees his legal possession, so the animal was seized, the subject arrested, and consigned to the State Attorney General’s Office to testify before the corresponding authorities.

Also in May the year after a trapper bird from Dzityákilled a toucan in northern Mérida. The bird was well-known by residents of the area, who cared for it. The bird was free and it used to visit the trees in a certain area until one day, an ignorant Yucatecan man decided to kill the defenseless animal with a BB gun.

Characteristics of toucans

Ranphastids (Ramphastidae), commonly known as toucans, are a family of birds in which there are forty-two different species. They are characterized by having a highly developed and brightly colored bill.

Toucans feed mainly on berries, seeds, fruits, and ripe fruit. Sometimes they do it from insects and other prey such as small lizards, chicks, and eggs of other birds, especially during the breeding season. There are forty-two different species of toucans. 

It is a monogamous animal and they live in permanent pairs. During courtship, it is common for these birds to indulge in the game of exchanging sticks and food, throwing it at each other or giving it to each other with their beaks.

This species lives in the southeast of Mexico and is considered in danger of extinction, which is why by law it is protected by the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa)

Article 420, section IV, of the Federal Penal Code contemplates that the sale or purchase is a crime that is punishable by a penalty of one to nine years in prison and the equivalent of three hundred to three thousand days’ fine.

Source: SIPSE

The Yucatan Post