Aroma Pets

Parrots removed from Lincolnshire zoo after they started swearing at customers

A group of parrots at a UK zoo had to be removed from display when they all began swearing at customers.

The Lincolnshire Wildlife Park adopted five African grey parrots on August 15 and put them into a room together to isolate.

However, while they were in quarantine, they managed to teach each other a raft of obscenities.

The staff were left in hysterics when they realised what had happened.

But the park swiftly put the birds back into isolation when they started swearing at guests.

Steve Nichols, CEO at the Friskney park, said that over the last 25 years he has taken in many parrots "that have sometimes had a bit of blue language".

He told the Standard: "Every now and then you’ll get one that swears and it’s always funny. We always find it very comical when they do swear at you."

But, he added that these newly adopted birds had been stuck together with nothing to do and the zoo soon had a room "full of swearing birds," on their hands.

"The more they swear the more you usually laugh which then triggers them to swear again," Mr Nichols said.

When the parrots went on display to the public, there were reports they had sworn at a customer within 20 minutes.

Mr Nichols said: "We found it highly amusing and the customers were fine – they were no problem at all.

"But we worried because we had a weekend coming up and children coming."

The birds have now been placed in an off-shore enclosure in the hopes they would be influenced by other parrots to behave more appropriately.

They will be released into separate areas so that they can no longer encourage each other.

Mr Nichols said African grey parrots are particularly adept at "learning vocalisations from all sorts of noises".

Reference: Evening Standard: Rebecca Speare-Cole 5 days ago: 30/09/2020

Stone Age dog may have been buried with its master

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of a Stone Age dog that was buried alongside a human in a settlement in what is now southern Sweden. That honorary position suggests the dog wasn't wild; rather, it likely lived amongst people about 8,400 years ago.

"This is one of the oldest grave finds of dogs in the country," osteologist Ola Magnell with The Archaeologists with National Historical Museums, in Lund, Sweden said in a statement from Blekinge Museum. "The dog is well preserved and the fact that it is buried in the middle of the Stone Age settlement is unique."

Oftentimes, people from this time period were buried with valuable or sentimental objects, so perhaps the dog fit into one of those categories, the archaeologists said.

Excavators found the burial in Ljungaviken, a neighborhood in the municipality of Sölvesborg, at an archaeological site that researchers have been studying for the past 10 years. Already, crews have found the remains of about 60 houses there, as well as pieces of flint and fireplaces, Carl Persson, the project manager of the excavation, told SVT Nyheter, the Swedish national public television broadcaster.

This settlement was abandoned soon after this person and dog were laid to rest. About 8,400 years ago, rising sea levels flooded the area. Those waters dumped layers of mud and sand over the site, burying it — but also protecting it — over time.

Archaeologists have been digging through this muck to reach the settlement beneath it, meaning that this burial and the other traces of Stone Age life are seeing the light of day for the first time in more than eight millennia. The team hasn't fully excavated the dog yet, but plans to soon.

"We hope to be able to lift the whole dog up in preparations, i.e. with soil and everything, and continue the investigations at [Blekinge Museum]," Persson said in the statement (translated from Swedish with Google Translate). He added that "a find like this makes you feel even closer to the people who lived here. A buried dog somehow shows how similar we are over the millennia — the same feelings of grief and loss." (Of note, it's unclear whether the dog died a natural death, or whether it was killed to be buried with its human. An analysis of its remains may reveal this mystery.)

Dogs were likely domesticated multiple times in different cultures, but have been living with humans since at least 33,000 years ago, according to a canine skull found in Siberia, a 2013 study published in the journal PLOS One found. An analysis of the Siberian skull showed that its DNA was more similar to modern dogs than it was to wolves, coyotes and prehistoric canid species, Live Science previously reported.

The new discovery is hardly the first archaeological evidence that ancient humans cared for their "good boys." A 14,000-year-old burial in western Germany may be the oldest known grave to contain both dogs and people, a 2018 study in the Journal of Archaeological Science found. The canid remains suggest the pup was young and sick when it died, but its people apparently still developed an emotional bond with it, the researchers of that study wrote, according to a previous Live Science article.

Meanwhile, a domesticated dog in Scotland's northern Orkney islands was buried in an elaborate grave about 4,500 years ago. That dog was about the size of a large collie and resembled, in some aspects, a European gray wolf. It was recently recreated as a 3D bust with fur and lifelike eyes.

Once the newfound Stone Age dog is excavated and archaeologists wrap up their work at Ljungaviken, construction crews are slated to build residential housing at the site.

Reference: Live Science: Laura Geggel 5 days ago: 28/09/2020

‘Great sadness’ as zookeepers say goodbye to tiger mother

Zookeepers say it is with “great sadness” that they announced the death of a beloved big cat.

Female Amur tiger Milla, who lived at Marwell Zoo in Winchester, died unexpectedly during a routine veterinary procedure.

Carrie Arnold, Marwell Zoo carnivores team leader, said: “Milla was an extremely charismatic animal; beautiful, confident, savvy and knew exactly what she wanted.

“She loved laying on her back soaking up the sun.

“She will be deeply missed by her keepers.”

Amur tigers, found in the Russian far east and north-eastern China, are endangered with less than 500 believed to remain in the wild.

Milla, 11, was born at Zlin Zoo, Czech Republic, in July 2009 and came to Marwell in September 2012.

Her mate Bagai arrived in December 2013 and the pair were part of the EAZA ex-situ programme, an endangered species breeding programme.

She eventually gave birth to three healthy cubs Makari, Bailla and Zima in May 2016.

Her death came while undergoing a routine veterinary procedure to fit a new contraceptive implant and have a full health check and vaccinations, the zoo said.

Shortly after being placed under general anaesthetic, she stopped breathing and her heart stopped.

Despite every effort, the vet team was unable to resuscitate her.

Milla had no known underlying health issues but a full post-mortem examination is being carried out.

Reference: Michael Drummond, PA South East Correspondent 5 days ago: 29/09/2020

Butterfly numbers lowest on record as experts warn of 'perilous' state of UK wildlife

Butterfly numbers have fallen to their lowest level in more than a decade, with campaigners saying it shows the "perilous state of wildlife" in the UK.

Figures released by wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation revealed that during the summer there was a 34% reduction in butterflies compared with 2019.

In July and August, the Big Butterfly Count was enjoyed by record numbers of people in parks, woodlands, nature reserves and gardens.

More than 1.4 million butterflies were counted - the lowest since the survey started 11 years ago.

Scientists say they are analysing the information to "understand what is happening" and "how we can work to solve it".

Butterfly Conservation said the number counted may have been lower partly because a warm spring led many species to emerge earlier.

Earlier this month, a report by conservation group WWF said global wildlife populations had collapsed by 68% since 1970 - while the UN called for action to stop the destruction of the natural world.

Dr Zoe Randle, the senior surveys officer at Butterfly Conservation, said: "Unfortunately, this summer has not seen an abundance of butterflies across the UK.

"Coming so shortly after the recent WWF and UN reports on the global biodiversity crisis, these 2020 results illustrate the perilous state of wildlife in the UK.

"However, the fact that so many people take part in this exciting citizen science initiative is encouraging and makes a huge difference to our understanding of how the natural world is responding to the crisis it is in.

"Now we need to see initiatives both here and across the world to put nature on a path to recovery.

"The fall in butterfly numbers this summer may be due to a number of factors. An unusually warm spring led many species to emerge earlier than usual.

"So we may have only caught the tail-end of the flight period for many species during this year's Big Butterfly Count."

More than 110,000 people took part in registering nearly 150,000 15-minute butterfly counts for the survey this year - an increase of 25% on 2019.

There was a 99% drop in sightings of the Painted Lady butterfly compared with 2019, while the species which enjoyed the biggest rise was Holly Blue with 48%.

Reference: Sky News: Ian Sale, news reporter 6 days ago: 28/09/2020