‘You never tire of being told to eff off by a parrot’
A wildlife park in Lincolnshire is having to deal with the unusual issue of foul-mouthed parrots.
More and more of the parrots at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park are picking up some sweary habits, with staff attempting to “dilute” the issue before it gets out of control.
Problems first arose in 2020, when five of the birds started turning the air blue, prompting staff to segregate them from the rest of the parrots so that visitors to the park didn’t hear their swearing.
Eventually, the expletive-loving birds were returned to the enclosure, but the wildlife was still forced to warn any members of the public with “sensitive” ears about the parrots.
But now, three more African Greys – Eric, Captain and Sheila – have turned into avian Gordon Ramsays, with staff trying a new approach to reign in their swearing.
The Express reports that rather than segregating the trio, staff have decided to release them into the wider flock in the hope that their swearing by the other birds.
The tactic doesn’t come without risk though, as it’s possible that they end up achieving the exact opposite if the other birds learn the swear words off the African Greys.
Chief executive of the wildlife park Steve Nichols said: “We could end up with 100 swearing parrots on our hands. Only time will tell.
“Parrots are flock creatures. They need to be with other parrots. The bigger the flock, the happier they are. Even though they swear, the welfare of the birds has to come first.”
The parrots have become one of the park’s biggest attractions though, because of their rudeness, with Nichols saying they provide humour in a time “when the world seems very serious.”
He explained that “you never tire of being told to eff off by a parrot,” with some visitors even standing around the enclosure swearing just to get the birds to copy them.
Nichols does think they will get the outcome they hope for by introducing the parrots to the wider flock and that the swearing will be “drowned out” by the general noise of the flock.
Whether this will leave visitors slightly disappointed though remains to be seen.
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