(no subject)
i don't like to write about my life in here anymore, because people on here are idiots who like to sit around criticising people because they live boring and horrible lives.
so.. i'll write about my experience at a place i volunteer at.
and i'll educate you all a little, because i bet you don't know that much about birds...
sam & i volunteer at The Tropics Exotic Bird Refuge in Kannapolis, NC.
http://tropics.parrotrefuge.com/atourmain.html
two people run The Tropics out of their own home. there are, literally, hundreds of birds that live there. There are at least 15-20 birds in their home, 50+ birds in the aviary out back, and then a whole lot more in a free-flight dome aviary that they had built recently.
these birds all used to be pets, but were purchased by people (who like 99% of the world population), didn't know enough about birds to purchase one. so, when the people ran out of love and care for the birds, they drop them off to mary and john bradford.. and, they take every bird. no matter what.
i've had some amazing experiences at The Tropics, and i am constantly in awe of the love (and time) that mary and john have devoted to these innocent animals that need care and love.
the exotic pet trade industry is horrible. pet stores sell birds like they are easy pets.. often lying to people and misleading them. i ocassionally visit "Super Petz" by the Biltmore Mall in Asheville.. where they have an Umbrella Cockatoo named Sammy. On my first visit there, I asked a worker what kind of Cockatoo he was, where she proceeded to tell me, "Oh, he's just a regular Cockatoo.." There is no such thing as a "regular" Cockatoo. She then decided to tell me that he would make a great pet, and is very easy to care for. she must have forgot to mention that they live for 80+ years, scream so loud that you can hear them a mile away, and will eat everything in your house if you leave them alone for a couple of hours.
i could have slapped her across the face.
this is an umbrella cockatoo.
cockatoo's are one of the hardest birds to care for. they are very smart (as are all birds), and very demanding. they are constantly compared to (by responsible owners) four year olds. they are very loving. they will sing to you, dance for you, kiss you, follow you around the house, fly to you.. but, just like a four year old, if they aren't given what they want.. they will find a way to get it. this can include: eating all of your furniture, mutilating themselves, biting you (and possibly slicing off a finger), among other things.
http://www.birdstheword.com/birds/konapooh.wmv
that link will take you to a video where you can see an umbrella cockatoo singing "winnie the pooh."
this post isn't about cockatoos though.. although i think they're amazing animals.. and possibly one of the most mistreated and misunderstood of parrots.
at The Tropics.. i met a hyacinth macaw. hyacinth macaws are very endangered, mostly due to the pet trade industry, and they are the LARGEST of parrots in the world.
if you think that the $3,000 cockatoo in the pet store is expensive.. look at the price tags on these beauties. the average price? anywhere from $25,000 - $60,000. no, that wasn't a typo. Mary Bradford bought her Hyacinth Macaw from the Zoo, because she realized that wasn't the kind of life it deserved to live. It had originally been purchased by a rich couple, who wanted a bird. They left the bird home for a while, and it proceeded to chew through it's steel cage (yes, they can easily chew through steel), and then eat and destroy all of the furniture in the house. the couple sold it to the zoo, and then Mary used all of her money to buy it and give it the kind of life it deserves.
when i met "Angel".. i was amazed. my first impression of her was while Mary was talking on the phone.. and Angel was screaming at the top of her lungs. Mary then told me, "She doesn't like when I'm on the phone.."
one thing about parrots that most people don't know? they mate for life. and, if you are it's owner.. it will choose you for it's mate. there is nothing you can do about that. it will hate your husband (or wife), it may even try to attack them on a regular basis. but you have become the birds mate, and it is going to be very very protective.
Angel was huge, and beautiful. she looked up at me, reached her big arm out, and then crawled up my arm and started kissing at my face. i fell in love. i remember thinking that her beak was large enough to basically bite my head in half, but i trusted her, and she inturn trusted me.. and i stood very still as i had one of the greatest experiences of my life.
watch these videos of a hyacinth macaw (this is not the one i met -- she doesn't talk much)... (which is another myth about parrots -- they don't all speak)
http://www.birdstheword.com/birds/goliathtalking.wmv
http://www.birdstheword.com/birds/dinnertime.wmv
http://www.birdstheword.com/birds/herekittykitty.wmv
http://www.birdstheword.com/birds/giainflight.wmv
isn't he beautiful?
and finally..
watch this video..
a 20/20 video of the owners of that bird (who's name is Goliath)..
http://www.birdstheword.com/birds/20-20.wmv
i'm hoping that this post will be read by someone.. and next time you're in a pet store and you see a bird for sale, you won't support that pet store. mary bradford has plenty of birds for adoption.. and all that pet stores are doing is putting more birds in peoples hands that don't know what theyre doing.
birds should not be pets.. and that is what mary and john spend all of their extra time trying to teach people. birds are not domesticated.. they are wild animals. many of the birds at her rescue were wild captured birds who were sold to be pets. even if they were born and raised in captivity, they are still wild animals.
humans don't understand the devestation that we do to animals. by taking these beautiful animals and putting them behind bars, we have ruined their lives. many of Mary's birds are permenant self mutilators.. they will pull out all of their feathers, and most of their skin for the rest of their lives.. not because they don't get the care and attention that they need, but because they belong in the wild.
the most amazing part of it all? the free-flight dome aviary. i walked into a huge dome with birds flying everywhere, screaming, dancing.. it was beautiful. these birds have lived such hard lives.. and to come to such a wonderful destination as The Tropics, was such a blessing and miracle for them.
the point of all this? don't support pet stores. if you see a bird in a pet store that is plucking it's feathers.. contact your local animal control. or contact a bird rescue, so that they can try to convince the pet store to give up the bird.
if you hear someone talking about getting a bird.. tell them that it's probably not the greatest idea. can you guarantee that you can care for an animal for over 80 years? can you afford the $500+ vet bills WHENEVER the bird needs it? can you spend every minute of every day making sure this bird feels comfortable and loved? can you guarantee that you will never have children, or that you will never live with someone who might mind a bird attacking them whenever they walk in the room?
my hope is that one day, most people will be educated about birds.. and will stop buying them. my hope is that pet stores will become "pet supply" stores, and will stop selling live animals. my hope is that people will stop capturing wild birds and taking their lives away by confining them to cages.
Mary Bradford has one species of bird that is about to become extinct. in fact, her bird and ONE bird in florida, are the only birds of the species left. the man who owns the bird in florida contacted her, wanted to breed his bird with hers. her response? she would rather have the species become extinct then make even one more bird be confined to a life of captivity.
it just isn't fair.
so.. i'll write about my experience at a place i volunteer at.
and i'll educate you all a little, because i bet you don't know that much about birds...
sam & i volunteer at The Tropics Exotic Bird Refuge in Kannapolis, NC.
http://tropics.parrotrefuge.com/atourmain.html
two people run The Tropics out of their own home. there are, literally, hundreds of birds that live there. There are at least 15-20 birds in their home, 50+ birds in the aviary out back, and then a whole lot more in a free-flight dome aviary that they had built recently.
these birds all used to be pets, but were purchased by people (who like 99% of the world population), didn't know enough about birds to purchase one. so, when the people ran out of love and care for the birds, they drop them off to mary and john bradford.. and, they take every bird. no matter what.
i've had some amazing experiences at The Tropics, and i am constantly in awe of the love (and time) that mary and john have devoted to these innocent animals that need care and love.
the exotic pet trade industry is horrible. pet stores sell birds like they are easy pets.. often lying to people and misleading them. i ocassionally visit "Super Petz" by the Biltmore Mall in Asheville.. where they have an Umbrella Cockatoo named Sammy. On my first visit there, I asked a worker what kind of Cockatoo he was, where she proceeded to tell me, "Oh, he's just a regular Cockatoo.." There is no such thing as a "regular" Cockatoo. She then decided to tell me that he would make a great pet, and is very easy to care for. she must have forgot to mention that they live for 80+ years, scream so loud that you can hear them a mile away, and will eat everything in your house if you leave them alone for a couple of hours.
i could have slapped her across the face.
this is an umbrella cockatoo.
cockatoo's are one of the hardest birds to care for. they are very smart (as are all birds), and very demanding. they are constantly compared to (by responsible owners) four year olds. they are very loving. they will sing to you, dance for you, kiss you, follow you around the house, fly to you.. but, just like a four year old, if they aren't given what they want.. they will find a way to get it. this can include: eating all of your furniture, mutilating themselves, biting you (and possibly slicing off a finger), among other things.
http://www.birdstheword.com/birds/konapooh.wmv
that link will take you to a video where you can see an umbrella cockatoo singing "winnie the pooh."
this post isn't about cockatoos though.. although i think they're amazing animals.. and possibly one of the most mistreated and misunderstood of parrots.
at The Tropics.. i met a hyacinth macaw. hyacinth macaws are very endangered, mostly due to the pet trade industry, and they are the LARGEST of parrots in the world.
if you think that the $3,000 cockatoo in the pet store is expensive.. look at the price tags on these beauties. the average price? anywhere from $25,000 - $60,000. no, that wasn't a typo. Mary Bradford bought her Hyacinth Macaw from the Zoo, because she realized that wasn't the kind of life it deserved to live. It had originally been purchased by a rich couple, who wanted a bird. They left the bird home for a while, and it proceeded to chew through it's steel cage (yes, they can easily chew through steel), and then eat and destroy all of the furniture in the house. the couple sold it to the zoo, and then Mary used all of her money to buy it and give it the kind of life it deserves.
when i met "Angel".. i was amazed. my first impression of her was while Mary was talking on the phone.. and Angel was screaming at the top of her lungs. Mary then told me, "She doesn't like when I'm on the phone.."
one thing about parrots that most people don't know? they mate for life. and, if you are it's owner.. it will choose you for it's mate. there is nothing you can do about that. it will hate your husband (or wife), it may even try to attack them on a regular basis. but you have become the birds mate, and it is going to be very very protective.
Angel was huge, and beautiful. she looked up at me, reached her big arm out, and then crawled up my arm and started kissing at my face. i fell in love. i remember thinking that her beak was large enough to basically bite my head in half, but i trusted her, and she inturn trusted me.. and i stood very still as i had one of the greatest experiences of my life.
watch these videos of a hyacinth macaw (this is not the one i met -- she doesn't talk much)... (which is another myth about parrots -- they don't all speak)
http://www.birdstheword.com/birds/goliathtalking.wmv
http://www.birdstheword.com/birds/dinnertime.wmv
http://www.birdstheword.com/birds/herekittykitty.wmv
http://www.birdstheword.com/birds/giainflight.wmv
isn't he beautiful?
and finally..
watch this video..
a 20/20 video of the owners of that bird (who's name is Goliath)..
http://www.birdstheword.com/birds/20-20.wmv
i'm hoping that this post will be read by someone.. and next time you're in a pet store and you see a bird for sale, you won't support that pet store. mary bradford has plenty of birds for adoption.. and all that pet stores are doing is putting more birds in peoples hands that don't know what theyre doing.
birds should not be pets.. and that is what mary and john spend all of their extra time trying to teach people. birds are not domesticated.. they are wild animals. many of the birds at her rescue were wild captured birds who were sold to be pets. even if they were born and raised in captivity, they are still wild animals.
humans don't understand the devestation that we do to animals. by taking these beautiful animals and putting them behind bars, we have ruined their lives. many of Mary's birds are permenant self mutilators.. they will pull out all of their feathers, and most of their skin for the rest of their lives.. not because they don't get the care and attention that they need, but because they belong in the wild.
the most amazing part of it all? the free-flight dome aviary. i walked into a huge dome with birds flying everywhere, screaming, dancing.. it was beautiful. these birds have lived such hard lives.. and to come to such a wonderful destination as The Tropics, was such a blessing and miracle for them.
the point of all this? don't support pet stores. if you see a bird in a pet store that is plucking it's feathers.. contact your local animal control. or contact a bird rescue, so that they can try to convince the pet store to give up the bird.
if you hear someone talking about getting a bird.. tell them that it's probably not the greatest idea. can you guarantee that you can care for an animal for over 80 years? can you afford the $500+ vet bills WHENEVER the bird needs it? can you spend every minute of every day making sure this bird feels comfortable and loved? can you guarantee that you will never have children, or that you will never live with someone who might mind a bird attacking them whenever they walk in the room?
my hope is that one day, most people will be educated about birds.. and will stop buying them. my hope is that pet stores will become "pet supply" stores, and will stop selling live animals. my hope is that people will stop capturing wild birds and taking their lives away by confining them to cages.
Mary Bradford has one species of bird that is about to become extinct. in fact, her bird and ONE bird in florida, are the only birds of the species left. the man who owns the bird in florida contacted her, wanted to breed his bird with hers. her response? she would rather have the species become extinct then make even one more bird be confined to a life of captivity.
it just isn't fair.