[6] Its demise was brought upon by nesting competition, avian predation, and a small native range, exacerbated by indigenous hunting and capture for the pet trade.

[7] Current threats continue to include hunting and trapping as well as tree cutting, invasive species, disease, and use of powders or foams used to extinguish fires.

[8] The name "Wagler's macaw" is in honor of German herpetologist and ornithologist Johann Georg Wagler, who processed many of Johan Baptist von Spix's Brazilian collections at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, and first described the blue macaws for a European readership in Monographia Psittacorum (1832).

The genus Ara is one of six genera of Central and South American macaws in the tribe Arini, which also includes all the other long-tailed New World parrots.

There is little easily observable sexual dimorphism; however, males tend to be a little bigger than females with approximate masses of 750 g and 950 g respectively.

As the macaw matures, the iris turns yellow and the amount of gold increases with age after 10 years.

The blue-throated macaw lives in the Llano de Moxos of the Beni Department of Bolivia, nesting in "Islas" (islands) of palm trees that dot the level plains.

The palm species Attalea phalerata is the most predominant source, but they will also eat from Acrocomia aculeata and Mauritia flexuosa.

[10] The number of suitable nest trees has been in decline due to the large amounts of deforestation in its natural habitat.

Although trapping ceased later in the 1990s, the wild population remains low, with previous estimates of between 110 and 130 individuals,[13] that more recently have been increased to about 350–400 after surveys by Armonia Association and the Loro Parque Fundacion found additional birds.

[14] The World Parrot Trust has many volunteers and employees working to monitor the nests to protect the chicks from predation.

[10] In 2008, American Bird Conservancy partnered with the World Land Trust-US, Loro Parque Fundacion, and Assiociacion Armonia to create the blue-throated macaw Reserve.

The feathers for the headdresses were previously culled from several species of macaw, including the Blue-throated, and as many as 10 birds were killed to make one head-piece.

[15] On November 4, 2013, the blue-throated macaw was listed under the Endangered Species Act, per the USFWS Final rule.

It is this physiological response that enables researchers to raise the third chick of a clutch in captivity and then return them to the wild nests when they are nearing fledge.

The species is known for its predilection for damaging and disassembling its keeper's property, as well as opening and escaping from its cage if left unsupervised.

[18][9] The World Parrot Trust recommends that the blue-throated macaw be kept in an enclosure of 15 metres in length and that this species should not be kept indoors permanently.