John Cleese wants to help the parrots
In honor of National Talk Like a Pirate Day, here is a message from John Cleese and the World Parrot Trust, starting with the famous Monty Python "Dead Parrot Pining For The Fjords" sketch.
Back in the day, every pirate worth his salt had a parrot, a trash talking mini-me who ruled the ship and seas from a secure perch on the Captain's shoulder.
These days, things are going a little less well for parrots -- nearly one-third of all parrot species are endangered.
The World Parrot Trust is an organization that works to conserve parrots and their natural habitats. Their focus includes stopping the traffic of wild caught parrots, and increasing the public's awareness of "the plight of parrots." Apparently many people get a parrot as a pet and are surprised to find out how much time and attention they require. Surprised, and unwilling to provide that care.
It sounds like parrots can use all the help they can get! If you want to learn more about the World Parrot Trust and their work, check out their site, or sign up for their monthly electronic newsletter, Flock Talk.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-19-2008 @ 9:29PM
ryan said...
I own a cockatoo and a yellow naped amazon (same as the guy that was singing). They are both totally diffierent birds, with the only commonality being the shape of their beaks. The amazon would be content to sit in his cage all day long without ever coming out, but the cockatoo constantly tries to sneak out. When we do take her out (which we do very often), she is out of control. She immediately tries to escape, attack our dogs, since she gets a kick out of that, and proceed to eat anything in sight. She can eat through a solid wood door in a few minutes, a drywalled wall in no time flat, and she has even destroyed a light switch. Basically, she sees the house as a big toy.
Anyone with a temper would have probably killed her by now. She has inflicted hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of damage to our house.
People don't understand this, as well as the fact, and reality, that parrots can live as long as humans. That means they have to be willed down to children in many cases.
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