Nathaniel Puente 
Brownsville- The UTRGV Brownsville campus is home to an abundance of wildlife.
With the amount of birds, lizards, and insects roaming around, you might think you are in a wildlife sanctuary rather than a university.
To preserve this ecological image, UTRGV has committed efforts to build nesting tubes for red-crowned parrots, an endangered species native to the Rio Grande Valley and Northeastern Mexico.
Dr. Karl Berg, a Biology professor, specializes in Ornithology and tells us he is excited about the project. “I’m just really excited to have the birds on campus,” said Berg.
“Since the early-90s, we knew they were in trouble,” commented Berg. “Their original distribution was very small, to begin with, there’s been a lot of habitat destruction, the illegal pet trade has also not helped the situation.”
The number of red-crowned parrots left in the wild is down to the thousands, while in the Rio Grande Valley there are only hundreds left. Projects like these at UTRGV ensure that the City Bird of Brownsville can continue to fly high.
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