Parrot Wins Contest but Loses Best Friend

Parrot Wins Contest but Loses Best Friend

Grey Day for Prize-winning Parrot

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS and BUFFALO GROVE, Ill., March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Bobo is a Congo African Grey parrot from Chicagoland who has just become famous. PBS television's "NATURE" series has chosen her pictures as winners in their Parrot Photo Contest.

When PBS's NATURE program, known for its spectacular photography, ran a contest for the best parrot photos from their viewers, the NATURE producers discovered just how popular parrots have become as pets. They were so overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of photos submitted that judges needed an extra two weeks to pick the top choices. The NATURE Team posted these explanations on their Flickr group, "With a record number of submissions, the judging process has taken longer than expected" ... "Our judges had some difficult decisions to make."

Bobo the parrot, whose photos took both a third place and a runner-up position in the tough competition, is apparently a little bit unusual. She loves rolling over on her back with her feet in the air while playing with toys, is friendly to all humans, and her best friend is one-fourth her size -- a small Jenday conure parrot.

Sadly, Bobo is not in a mood to celebrate. Her buddy, Chomper the Jenday, is missing. Chomper, a very tame green and orange parrot, was last seen being targeted by a hawk. Bobo's photographer and dad, Philip Thistlethwaite, is heartsick, "Bobo continues to call for her several times a day. I have no way of knowing if Chomper escaped to a friendly human or was captured by the hawk. Not knowing is so hard." Parrots often out-maneuver hawks but can fly for miles, so although Chomper was lost in the northwest suburbs of Chicago, she may have ended up anywhere. She could have approached a human for refuge, or become disoriented by a chase. Because it has been so cold this winter, if she is still alive, she is most likely already with a kind human.

Bobo and Philip are asking for help with finding Chomper. A reward is being offered that is equal to the full price of a replacement bird for either her return or information that leads to her being found alive ... and a smaller reward for the recovery of her remains. She has a leg band, so she can easily be identified.

To help identify her and recruit help in the search, there is a music video on YouTube about Chomper, which features many photos of her by Bobo's winning photographer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRlBD7Q5LGg

People will often keep a found parrot, not knowing how to track down the owners. Unlike a cat or dog, it isn't possible to put a collar with nametag on a bird. Therefore, it is a slow and painful process -- birds have been lost for weeks, months, or even years before being reunited with owners. The leg bands only identify the bird, and do not contain information about how to find the owner. It usually doesn't occur to finders to check for implanted microchips in a bird, but many find it inconvenient anyway to have to scan for an ID. Therefore, websites like "911 Parrot Alert" (http://www.911parrotalert.com/) advise owners not to give up too easily.

It is evident from the unprecedented response to PBS's NATURE Parrot Photo Contest that parrot ownership has become mainstream, and that owners are very passionate about their feathered friends. Birds have been the third most popular pet (after dogs and cats), but they were a distant third until recently. There has been a boom in parrot ownership in particular due to increased media exposure, and because these highly intelligent birds have become more accessible. A surge in domestic breeding has driven the price of some exotic birds down below purebred cats and dogs, yet the demand for more rare species has increased and some parrots are selling for ten to fifteen thousand dollars. As is presented in the NATURE documentaries, rarity is often the result of human intrusion, so there is a strange irony in the value of those birds so desired by humans. Poaching of the birds is now illegal, but because of the damage already done, in the case of some species, there are actually more birds in homes as pets then there are left in the wild.

Chomper is a fairly common type of parrot, but to Bobo and her family, she is very special and very much missed.

Chomper has green wings and tail, an orange head and breast, is about 10 inches long, and weighs about 105 grams. She has a leg band, and a very loud birdie call. She was lost in mid-January.

If anyone has information about her, we ask that they email: flychomperfly@yahoo.com.

NATURE Contest winners:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/flickr/parrots/winners.html

NATURE Contest information:

http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/release.php?get=2736

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Philip Thistlethwaite

CONTACT: Philip Thistlethwaite or Catherine Buckley, +1-847-635-8100

Web site:

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/flickr/parrots/winners.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRlBD7Q5LGg
http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/release.php?get=2736
http://www.911parrotalert.com/

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