Foul Mouthed Parrots At British Wildlife Park

African Grey Parrots are a brilliant species of bird, perhaps the most intelligent. They are native to the rainforests of central and west Africa. The species is endangered and protected but is not yet forbidden to be kept as pets. The birds are known for being very vocal, mimicking a wide range of sounds. They almost have a niche for remembering human words, but remembering sounds and words isn't all of their ability; they can take the words and string them together into coherent sentences to communicate with humans. Despite the charming nature of these beautiful birds, they have started a problem across the pond, in England.

At Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in Friskney, England, Billy, Elsie, Eric, Jade, and Tyson, a group of African Grey Parrots, have caused a bit of a swearing problem, which has prompted zoo officials to post signs warning people who want to see the birds.

These birds were donated to the zoo early in the COVID pandemic, so they did not see many people then. However, the zoo still kept them out of public earshot as they were still getting accustomed to their new environment. When the birds came to the park in 2020, they already had a swearing issue, so while everyone was isolated, the caretakers also isolated the birds and tried their hardest to rid them of the words, but obviously had no luck. With the bird's ability to pick up human words, they have used this ability, but not in a good way; they are using their extraordinary ability to learn swear words, and they are using these words at things and people. Instagram user, "crunchiehamster" commented on a picture posted by the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park, stating, "I got told to f off by one of them and thought it was hilarious, it topped off the awesome time we had in the most hilarious way." The African Grey Parrots are the primary concern as they make up five of the eight birds that have picked up swear words at the zoo.

Steve Nichols, the parks CEO, was doing a news segment, and one of the parrots interrupted and started making obscene noises. But, the news crew did not move away from the parrot as it would've disrupted the camera shot. Nichols responded to the obscene noises, saying that it was not his fault if the parrots made any noises, as the caretakers did not use foul language around them. Nichols also added that the parrots making the noises isn't really that funny. Still, there is something about it that is funny, and that is that the parrots will replicate the person's voice exactly. So whoever they learned the word from is how they will say it, in the same tone of voice. Nichols also added that his staff finds it quite funny that the parrots are attracting national attention, yielding phone calls from relatives living abroad.

African Grey Parrots are some of the most social animals, building strong relationships with other birds and humans. They also like independence, but this also requires that they have ample mental stimulation; without it, they can have behavioral issues, which may be a cause for the foul language.