Ethiopian Airlines Denies Wildlife Allegations Dec 7, 2007
The Yaounde-based Last Great Ape Organization, working with Cameroonian security forces, seized a consignment of 500 African Grey parrots on Tuesday on an Ethiopian Airlines plane shortly before it was due to take off. LAGA said on Wednesday it was considering suing Ethiopian Airlines for complicity. (Planet Ark, United States)
Why do parrots have the ability to mimic? Dec 6, 2007
For example, African grey parrots in the wild are known to imitate other species of birds ... Vocal mimicry in wild African Grey Parrots Psittacus erithacus. (Scientific American)
Cameroon Group Faults Airline Over Parrot Smuggling Dec 6, 2007
YAOUNDE - A wildlife conservation group in Cameroon said on Wednesday it was considering suing Ethiopian Airlines for complicity after it caught smugglers trying to take 1,000 African Grey parrots out of the central African country. The Yaounde-based Last Great Ape Organization (LAGA), working with Cameroon's security forces, seized a consignment of 500 African Grey parrots on Tuesday aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane shortly before it was due to leave Douala airport. (Planet Ark, United States)
Cameroon Holds Ghanaians for Smuggling 500 Parrots Nov 28, 2007
YAOUNDE - Authorities in Cameroon have arrested two Ghanaians for trying to illegally export 500 African Grey parrots out of the central African country to Bahrain, officials said on Tuesday ... "I'm happy the government of Cameroon is taking the illegal trade in African Grey parrots quite seriously," Drori said. (Planet Ark, United States)
Alex The Parrot Dies Sep 14, 2007
Alex The Parrot and Dr. Irene Pepperberg show the world that African Grey Parrots are no dumb animal ... Many African Grey Parrots live long into their fifties or later ... Initially the world believed African Grey Parrots mimicked words and sounds they heard in their surrounding environment. (Suite101.com)
Talking the talkWho are the communication kings of the animal world? May 2, 2007
" Animal mimics Despite the fact that most animals are stumped when it comes to vocal communication, a limited number of species are able to perform the feat of hearing a sound, copying it, and then reproducing it - something scientists call vocal learning. This trick of imitation plays a key part in human language. "One reason why we are looking at vocal learning," explains Vincent Janik, of the Gatty Marine Research Institute at the University of St Andrews, "is because it is so important to... (BBC News -- Science)
When real estate encounters altruism Jan 13, 2007
They designed it that way, they said, to accommodate not only themselves, but their "children," namely, their three African grey parrots who live with them and have a room of their own. On the main level, the custom Colonial house includes a dining room, living room and a large bedroom suite and bath. (New Milford Times, CT)
Police hunt bird thieves Dec 29, 2006
The Taronga Zoo-bred african grey parrots were stolen by thieves, who used wire-cutters to break into the bird enclosure on Wednesday night. It was the first time thieves had targeted the zoo's 1,300-strong bird collection - Australia's largest. (ABC News Online, Australia -- Just In)
Thieves nab rare parrots Dec 28, 2006
Thieves used wire cutters to get to the African grey parrots between midnight and 1am ACDT.. Experts say the thieves could sell them for tens of thousands of dollars interstate. (ABC News Online, Australia -- Australia/Local)
Thieves swoop on exotic animals Jul 13, 2006
This past Friday for example, a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species in Lima, Peru, will hear how a vast trade in exotic birds -- both legal and illegal -- has decimated populations of African grey parrots, prized for their ability to mimic human speech. Britain's Royal Society for the Protection of Birds says 360,000 African greys were legally traded between 1994 and 2003 -- most of them into Europe -- while many thousands more were illegally traded. (CNN -- World)
African Grey Parrots "Under Threat From Pet Trade" Jul 6, 2006
Subscribe to daily environment news. LONDON - Britain's favourite talking parrot, the African grey, is being put at risk by the wild bird trade, wildlife campaigners said on Thursday. (Planet Ark, United States)
Gift of the Gabon Jan 21, 2006
In the reeds below the bungalow, a large black and yellow ornate monitor lizard suns itself and a clutch of African grey parrots clatters in the shade of an oil palm overhead. Loango Lodge is Rombout Swanborn's dream. (Guardian Unlimited)
