Parrots

[00:00:00] Alex Re: Hello, welcome to On Wildlife. I'm your host Alex Re, on this podcast, we bring the wild to you. We take you on a journey into the life of a different animal every month, and I guarantee you, you're gonna come out of your knowing more about your favorite animal than you did before. This month's animal is known for being extremely colorful and a little talkative too.

[00:00:22] And we have a special guest. Marco Wendt, who's a spokesperson for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and has plenty of experience working closely with these awesome avians. So get ready to hear a lot of chatting as we fly into the world of parrots.

[00:00:56] There are about 400 parrot species worldwide, and you can find them on almost every continent except Europe and Antarctica. They prefer to live in tropical environments. You can find the most parrot diversity in South America and Australia. Most parrot species eat a variety of fruits, seeds, and other plant parts.

[00:01:19] They've also been known to eat insects and small animals. Now our guest Marco went, has been working with parrots and other birds for a long time. He's got a lot of cool information to share about parrots that I can't wait to get into. So let's hear about how he got his start.

[00:01:37] Marco Wendt: I'm Marco. How are you doing?

[00:01:39] I'm doing very well, friend. Like I was saying earlier, it's always a great day here at the Safari Park, so happy to be here.

[00:01:44] Alex Re: Awesome. Well, I'd love for you to tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got interested in working with birds. Yeah, of course.

[00:01:52] Marco Wendt: Uh, well, my name is Marco went. My official title is Wildlife Ambassador for San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, and I have a over 28 years experience working in the zoology, the zoology world.

[00:02:04] But, you know, it all started actually when my parents got me, I. Some baby chicks, my friend, being very, very young, got these, I think it was six total, loved them, had the, got the habitat all set up for them in my backyard, and I remember being a little kid looking out my window, admiring my little baby chickies, and then all of a sudden.

[00:02:22] This big giant hawk came outta nowhere and started chasing my chicks. And I remember for like the first couple seconds, I was very distraught, obviously for my little babies. But very quickly my brain went to, what is that bird? What kind of a bird is that? And from there, honestly, my, my love of birds just took off into a soar, I guess you could say.

[00:02:43] Alex Re: That's great and you kind of got to see the circle of life there.

[00:02:47] Marco Wendt: A hundred percent. Until this day, honestly, I as as dramatic and intense as it can be. For me, the predator prey dynamic is one of my favorite things to see. 'cause it's like you're putting all of this evolutionary traits of two species, you know, together to see this dynamic situation happen.

[00:03:04] You know? So, so yeah, I definitely appreciate that nuance.

[00:03:08] Alex Re: Yeah, absolutely. And as you were saying before, you're an ambassador and spokesperson for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance. So what's the mission of this organization and what do you do there?

[00:03:20] Marco Wendt: Yeah, so as you said, we're San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.

[00:03:23] We're an international nonprofit conservation organization. Uh, we have our two conservation parks, which in case your listeners are not familiar with, here in the city of San Diego and California in the United States. We have the San Diego Zoo in the heart of San Diego, about. Little over a hundred years now of conservation successes.

[00:03:41] And where I grew up is where I'm at today at the Safari Park, which is in the town of Escondido. So it's about maybe 30 minutes north. I call it like the back country of San Diego, which is, I'm a San Diego native, so this is where I grew up that the east county of the North county of San Diego, it's not just beaches, right?

[00:03:59] San Diego is remarkable 'cause we have valleys. Forests, deserts, and of course the coastal areas as well. But it's a super dynamic place to work. And our mission, it's really combining our world class expert wildlife care with our conservation science and with all of these attributes to our successes, it's really about the people.

[00:04:18] We need to inspire the communities of the world about the work that we're doing. And because as you and I both know, you know, you inspire someone and hopefully they become an advocate for conservation practices in the future. So that's really our, our. Core, I think fundamental.

[00:04:33] Alex Re: Absolutely. And I'm a hundred percent behind the idea that if you can get people interested in animals and caring about even one specific animal early on, then they'll become an advocate for them later on in their life.

[00:04:46] Yeah.

[00:04:47] Marco Wendt: Yes, 100%. Right. And with all the projects that we do, I always say, you know, conservation always begins with human beings. And a lot of people who wanna get into the zoological world, you know, I work, I make fun of some of my coworkers who, you know, they say like, I love animals, but I hate people. But to be honest, you know, we all know, and it's something that I think all people really should know, that really all this work begins with human beings.

[00:05:10] You know, we can't disassociate ourselves from the work that needs to get done. So always begins with human beings.

[00:05:15] Alex Re: Absolutely. And let's just start talking about parrots. So they're known for their ability to make a variety of different noises, including even mimicking human words. So how are they able to do this, and does this give them any advantages in the wild?

[00:05:32] Marco Wendt: Yeah, that's a really awesome question, and we get asked that all the time, especially with our, our parrot ambassadors. In the past, I've worked in bird shows. That's my, uh, a good portion of my time here at the Safari Park. My background is more focused on animal training, husbandry behaviors, free flight behaviors.

[00:05:47] I have a lot of experience with, so with parrots, there's such a unique animal. For one, you know, I often tell people they're one of the most intelligent animals on the planet. Now you can. Quantify intelligence in many different ways. And by that I mean like for instance, a, a pigeon can see over 300 different types of green, you know, 'cause they're adapted to their environment and migrating different spaces versus maybe a magpie from North America can recall over like 300 different spots that they have stats or acorns as an example.

[00:06:16] So really animals are intelligent, I think, for their. The environments and the ecosystems they live in. With that being said, parrots are so intelligent, so I throw 'em up there with animals like the elephant, the dolphin, the dog, and the ape. Some people, and you're gonna love this, but this is what a lot of my colleagues and I have used in the past to describe a parrot having a parrot in your home as an example.

[00:06:35] It's like having a 2-year-old. With a pair of scissors in one hand and a blow horn in the other. Now the 2-year-old is a reference to their intelligence. They are so smart and some people like to compare that to that of a toddler intelligence. It give you an idea of that the blow horn and the scissors is kind of a comical way to explain to people why, and we can get into a little later why they don't ma make necessarily the best.

[00:06:59] Pet, right? For for many people, the bullhorn is in reference to their vocal chords. How some of these animals have to make a call, whether it be territory or trying to attract a mate. And some of these calls have to traverse thick rainforest or large expanses. So imagine having maybe a. A highest in Macaw, one of the largest parrots or the largest parrot in the world.

[00:07:18] Making a squawking call at four o'clock in the morning may not be your favorite thing. The scissors in the other hand, that's a reference to their beak. As you and I both know that beak is constantly growing. Many of them nest in cavities of trees, so they need to gnaw on things basically in the wild to keep that beat down.

[00:07:35] I've heard stories of people with parrots in homes who maybe didn't offer the, the use the word appropriate sort of environment for their parrots, especially during breeding season. And regrettably had their parrot chew through their wall. So I know I'm getting sidetracked, but you were talking about.

[00:07:50] Mimicking and with their intelligence, you know, they are a very intelligent animal. Now, there isn't too many examples of parrots mimicking random sound to attract a mate like maybe other species may do, like a bower bird as an example. But we do know this, that parrots like many other species, we have the larynx, you know, in the throat area.

[00:08:08] The snx is that. The part of their vocal chords that they're actually using more to make those kind of vocal sounds. And those sounds can be extremely varied. It could be a very unique call to warn the flock or its mate of a potential predator. Maybe you're a parrot in the Amazon and possibly a collared falcon or a harpy eagle comes by or a jaguar.

[00:08:29] So they do maybe a warning squawk to alert it's mate, or it's it's youngsters or it's flock. Um, there's other situations of not only using vocal chords, but their body language and foreign objects to attract the mate. Also, and I know I'm getting sidetracked from the Mimicing ability, but I wanna remind people in your listeners, it's not just being vocal to attract a mate, the palm.

[00:08:49] Nut cock to, as an example, the male will not only do a booming sound, but he'll also grab a stick and pound it like a drum on certain objects. Just to give you the, the, the diversity of what vocals and auditory s simula can be for a parrot. But I know I'm getting sidetracked, but yes, parrots are really good at mimicking.

[00:09:07] Their vocal ranges vary again, from different ecosystems. I told you it could be a parrot in North America or. A parrot in Australia versus Africa or Australia, the calls can be different. The mimicking capabilities, to me it speaks more of their intelligence level. Why parrots mimic more often than not for us, I think it's because they're so intelligent that they want to actually.

[00:09:29] Either get something from the human being or get their attention, and that's where I see a lot of the mimicking of different sounds. And I know you and I are saying mimicking, some people tend to say parrots are speaking, and you and I both know they're not really speaking like we are right now engaged in a conversation.

[00:09:44] Granted, they do communicate but not into this way. So when a parrot is mimicking a human sound, if there's a reason for it, they're associating it with something. For instance, I have. I actually have two parrots in my home.

[00:09:56] Not because I wanted them, but because of what I do for a living and not, not to not to talk ill a parrot just because I know what it's like to have a parrot in your home. It's a long commitment. Some of these birds are gonna live 50, 60. I knew a parrot cockatoo that was 80 years old. So think about that commitment level, right? So I bring this up because I have very vocal parrots. I have an African gray who will say good morning to me in the morning.

[00:10:20] It's not because he knows it's morning, it's because I have associated the words. Good and morning to this particular time of day. So that's generally when he's saying that. But they're so intelligent. I'm gonna use my African gray as an example. So he will do a wolf call that when he sees a woman human walk by, 'cause he knows if he makes that call, he'll get a reaction from that human being.

[00:10:43] He will change his. Vocal to a, a child laughing and physically dancing when he sees a human child come by. So I see him change his vocals depending on the scenario around him. I've even seen him mimic the sounds of the crows in the area, and I've seen them actually calling back to each other. Now, I know I mentioned that in the wild is not too many examples of that, but again, I'm talking about a para in a domesticated setting.

[00:11:08] But there's so many different parrots around the world that can do this. Ability, but to the extent of mimicking, say a human word, we don't see too many of that example out in the wild.

[00:11:18] Alex Re: That's so interesting and it, you can tell just by. The sounds that they make and what they expect out of that, how intelligent they are.

[00:11:27] That's so cool that they're able to do that. Yeah, a hundred percent. It's so cool to hear about how Parrots can use mimicking to get reactions outta people. We're gonna take a quick break and when we get back we'll hear about some more adaptations that have.

[00:11:54] Time for today's trivia question. What do you call a person who studies fish?

[00:12:10] The answer is an icthyologist.

[00:12:20] Now let's get back to the episode. What are some other adaptations that they might have that help them survive in the wild?

[00:12:29] Marco Wendt: You know, I was thinking about this question and to me it's two things that come to mind. Uh, one is back to that intelligence level. I mean, some of these animals. They're interacting with a variety of different other species.

[00:12:40] So think about. What a parrot maybe in the Amazon will have to do to survive. An example could be some of the fruit. For instance, we've seen studies of some of the fruit or seeds that they're consuming has a level of toxicity in them. Just naturally into that, that food item. And in the past. People have wondered, you know, why don't these parrots in the Amazon get sick from these particular items?

[00:13:02] And a little more further study, an investigation had found a certain group of, I think it was Green Wings and Scarlet Macaw they, or flying into a, an embankment by a river. And these biologists were noting that they were eating a particular kind of. Clay and they found out like, why are they eating this clay?

[00:13:18] And the deduction? Was it the clay in their system was helping to absorb the toxins from the food that they were eating in that area? Now think about that intelligence level and how adaptive they were for that environment versus maybe a parrot from St. New Zealand Akea, one of my personal favorites.

[00:13:35] They're not the most colorful pair in the world. But they're one of the few parrots that actually live in more of an alpine, snowy environment. And that's something people tend to forget. You know, you think of a parrot, you instantly think of a jungle. That's not the case. You know, we have parrots in cold mountainous weather, like the thick built parrot or the Kia that naturally live in these colder environments.

[00:13:55] There's also evidence of non-native parrots living now in cities like Los Angeles or here in San Diego and thriving. And these are parrots that originally came from the tropics, and they found themselves in these. Cities in, in North America and these colder environments, and they're doing great 'cause of that intelligence level.

[00:14:12] So my number one for parrots, for survivability and adaptability is their intelligence level. The other one I wanted to point out, it's a behavioral thing. It's how social they are. Now, many other animals are not as social and some are more solitary, some even more social, depending on the species. But overall, when I think about parrots and.

[00:14:31] Yeah, any corner of the planet. You know, there's always this aspect of a, of a flock dynamic and also of a mate. Most parrots, if I'm not mistaken, are primarily monogamous. I say primarily 'cause nothing really is black and white in nature, but it, by that I mean, you know, they will stick with their mate for, for the rest of their life.

[00:14:48] But there's also this a communal aspect, which really helps for survivability too, for maybe spotting that predator coming in or for possibly for procuring resources as well. So. Those are my top two. I think that, for me, really sets parrot apart the social aspect and just their overall intelligence level.

[00:15:07] Alex Re: That's really interesting and I, I've seen with, you know, doing so many of these episodes that a lot of the more intelligent animals or the animals that we regard as intelligent are social animals and it's because they know how to communicate. They are really good at. Problem solving with other individuals.

[00:15:29] So it's just something interesting that I've seen as a pattern.

[00:15:33] Marco Wendt: Oh, a hundred percent. I think I, I put it as more like reading behavior. Like they're, they're intuitive in that regard, that they're perceiving certain aspects of that social dynamic, you know, so they're really awesome that way.

[00:15:44] Alex Re: Yeah, absolutely.

[00:15:46] And we talk, we talked a little bit about the social aspect of their lives. And you did mention some of the mating rituals. Can you talk a little bit more about how other species attract mates?

[00:15:59] Marco Wendt: Yeah. You know, for me the, the pom nut cockatoo is probably one of the more unique ones, just for, I mean, we know that parrots and other species have used tools like chimpanzee, evidence of crows, other animals utilizing tools.

[00:16:13] But the fact that this one species of cockatoo in Australia grabs a. A physical object, a stick to drum it with their foot. I think that's, that's crazy, right? Such an expressive way to capture a, uh, to attract a mate. But, you know, overall there's other aspects depending on the species. It can vary from a highest synth to a thick build.

[00:16:31] But overall, some of the, the attributes I would say in general, just let's do a broad stroke of parrots out, around, around the planet, the color, right? People think of parrots and their colorful nature and the pigmentation serves a lot of purposes for parrots. People would be surprised to hear that, like a Scarlet Macau as an example.

[00:16:47] Or a green wing will blend in very well to the tropical environment. Granted, you and I as a human being, we see this really small, I would say pretty sad little spectrum of color 'cause other animals can see so much. So we see something that maybe a Jaguar wouldn't see. C or a harpy eagle. So some of the same colors wouldn't be received to us like they would to another predator or to another parrot.

[00:17:09] The other example I would give you a hummingbird. So think about a hummingbird in your backyard and you see green, you see a flower popping up here and there. But they see in a variety of what if you ever heard of black light before or ultraviolet light. So for them. The world is a kaleidoscope of color that we do not see, but they experience it 'cause they need to see that receptive flower off in the distance.

[00:17:32] So parrots I, in my opinion, color is a big aspect depending on what species we're talking about. Even if it's an African, gray, more gray color with a really bright red tail. Or the Scarlet Macau with that vibrant rainbow color. Or even the Kia, which if you look at a Kia without the wings open, you'd think a drab green bird.

[00:17:50] But again, there's more aspects to that color that we're not picking up with our human eye. And they have gorgeous colors on their primary feathers as well. So I think in general, again, color to show health vitality, that you're an adult, you know, you do really good. You can eat, you're thrive, and your colors are great.

[00:18:07] Sometimes it's even for a lot of parrots offering food. You know, maybe if, if you go on a date to a movie possibly you wouldn't necessarily would be regurg your popcorn to your mate to show, you know, the strong bond. But maybe that's something a parrot would do. You know, so it, we recently, we had a really fun article for us at to subscribe Love Languages, right?

[00:18:27] And so love languages. For me, food is a big love language, you know, or touch. So for parrots, a lot of that color also, again, whatever you can do to build that bond, they're made. So offering food could be another aspect to that.

[00:18:40] Alex Re: Wow, that's really interesting. And what's something unexpected that you've learned about Parrots while working with them?

[00:18:48] Marco Wendt: Yeah. You know, I was really thinking about this one 'cause there's so many cool things about parrots and I was, I was going back to like 16-year-old Marco at the Safari Park. My first experience with Parrots and what really struck me, right, and honestly the, the number one thing was that communication was a lot more than the.

[00:19:04] Auditory or than the vocal. When people think of pear, they instantly think about mimicking and squawking and, and being, being allowed. Vivacious animals, a lot of them are, you know, not, not to discredit that, but there's so much more to their communication than just a vocal. And now being around these animals, as long as I have, you know, there's.

[00:19:22] Body posture where the, where the neck is being positioned, if they're showing me the side of their face versus straight on, if their eyes are pinning, you know, can show excitement as an example. Or even the blushing of their skin, how quickly they tucked back in pri a feather could be a sound like a, if you own a cat, a tail twitch, you know, it could be a little warning of aggression.

[00:19:42] So there's. There's so much. I say next time you look at a a parrot stop for a moment and just look at what it's doing and how it's communicating. 'cause they again, are just so intelligent and they're saying so much more than just with their sounds, you know? So that's definitely what I would say.

[00:19:59] Alex Re: That's great to think about.

[00:20:00] And there's often that happens with a lot of animals. You think about the auditory communication right away, but then you notice these body language indicators, even with your own pets, like you said, with your cat, your dog, what you should really tune into what they're doing with their body, and that's gonna help you show you what they're thinking.

[00:20:23] Marco Wendt: Yeah, exactly. You know, and even going back to the story of my African gray at home, talking to those crows, I was fascinated by it. I'm sure it's happened in the past. I just never seen it before. And seeing how my African gray changed his call and how the crow responded back, and I saw interspecies communication, which happens all the time in the natural world, happens every day.

[00:20:43] I just don't think human beings realize how much it's done between different species, you know? And I think it gets a little more like. To romanticize it a little bit, I think it's a good reminder for human beings that regardless of where you come from, you know, there is that connectivity and a way to communicate with all sorts of walks of life, you know?

[00:21:01] Alex Re: Yeah, definitely. I love that viewpoint. Uh, I think that's great. And why are parrots important to the ecosystems that they live in?

[00:21:09] Marco Wendt: Yeah, I preface it with every animal, like is important to their ecosystem. There's so much. What I love about this job that I have is like, I'm still a student for life, that we don't know everything.

[00:21:19] In fact, I would always distrust someone that tells me I know everything about this certain topic because then you're, you're not allowing yourself to grow. Right? And so for me, parrots the, the biggest, I think. And there's so many, but the, the one connection I see with their ecosystems is being seed dispersers.

[00:21:37] And that's a big deal with a lot of these animals that live in most in thick wooded or tropical areas where they're, they're messy eaters, right? And so I, if you ever had a pair, you know what I mean? And they're messy for a reason. I mean, they're climbing up the canopies of the trees for the most part.

[00:21:52] As an example, let's say the Amazon. They're climbing up, they're eating these fruits here. They fly off for kilometers and miles on edge. They defecate and it's rich nitrate. Poop. And poop is very important, right? In the, in the zoo world too, for a lot of reasons. But in nature, these animals are helping plants grow and parents aren't the only, we found out wilder, bes, Aries, snakes, rattlesnakes here in San Diego.

[00:22:16] Abilities to help disperse seeds, you know, so it, it's amazing to me how much. Wildlife is connected. Lemme say animal wildlife is connected to plant wildlife and they're all interconnected and there's so much more. Yeah. Other species that benefit not to get too wild, Ona, but you know, predators that depend on parrots as well.

[00:22:35] It could be a two can rating for parrot eggs or a marga, a smaller wildcat species in the Americas. There's so many aspects every. Animal is and plant are important. And there's a, there's a saying that I think is appropriate for right now. What I say is that every, every ecosystem is a diversity of plants, of animals, and that includes human beings.

[00:22:55] And it just speaks to the importance of diversity in species and all that walks of life, and again, parrots in particular for that atrophy, for helping those full receive vibrant and healthy. I think it's, it's a very important role they play.

[00:23:07] Alex Re: Yeah, that's great. And I think there's a lot of things that even we don't know.

[00:23:12] About plants that might rely on parrots specifically just to disperse their seeds. And if they were gone, then they, the plants would die out too. 'cause they don't have anybody to disperse those seeds. Exactly. So even things that we can't necessarily see are reasons why parrots are so important. And any animals important to their ecosystem?

[00:23:33] Marco Wendt: No, a hundred percent.

[00:23:35] Alex Re: And what are some of the problems that parrots are facing today?

[00:23:40] Marco Wendt: Yeah. Uh, there's, there's a lot happening unfortunately in the world, you know, so overall, think about there's a little over 300 species of parrots found on planet Earth, and a little over a hundred or so are either threatened, vulnerable, or endangered.

[00:23:53] And that's by that. IUCN, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Your listeners can look up the IUCN red list to get a more accurate idea. Numbers of species overall. Yeah. Parrots aren't doing so good for a lot of different reasons. A top two, I would say actually wildlife trafficking is, is probably one of the biggest aspects for parrots, unfortunately.

[00:24:13] And I want to reiterate what I said earlier. You know, parrots, you see them on television, you see them in a cartoon. Maybe you read a story about pirates and you saw a parrot on the shoulder and, oh, I want one mommy, I want a parrot. So bad. But what what's sad about it is it comes from a, a good place, right?

[00:24:28] We're passionate, we love them, they look great, and we want, we want to have that. That beauty in our home. So I totally get that. I, I feel the love, but people forget what I said earlier. It's like having a 2-year-old that can live 50, 60, 70 years, and I'm gonna say it one more time and slower for the parents that are listening.

[00:24:45] It's like having a 2-year-old, right? For 60 years. Think about this for a second. Parrots in the United States go at an average between eight families in their lifetime. And that is so sad when you think about it. I'm gonna use a mammal 'cause human sense. Connect with mammals a little better. It's like passing around a dog eight different times to different families, and that's really traumatic to a parrot and to a dog as well.

[00:25:11] Parrots can exhibits psychological issues because of that, you know, ripping their feathers out or other. Self mutilating behaviors too, as an example, and not to get too extreme, but to, to really hone in or hammer in the point that we are affecting these individuals with the pet rate. I can speak to this because I identify as Latinx, and so my family's from Mexico, and there's a big tradition about having birds in your home growing up, and it was true for me growing up.

[00:25:37] In a Mexican household, but again, our traditions shouldn't affect nature in a negative way. So it's something I, I try to bring up for the Latino commuting particular, you know, there's ways we can. Express our love for wildlife without affecting the population. So there's plenty of parrots in domesticated scenarios now and breeding programs that you can reach out.

[00:25:57] If you really feel, if you've done your research and you really feel that a parrot is the right animal for you, please reach out to a reputable breeder and ask the questions, where did you get the parrot? Where is the breeder from? If they don't have any of that information, walk away. Do not support those scenarios.

[00:26:15] I'm sure you. Your listeners have seen the visuals or I would recommend if you feel you have the stomach for it, of some of the very sad ways that parrots are being smuggled across borders from little baby cockatoos smashed into water bottles as an example, or hubcaps and tires. It is. It is severe and it's pretty sad, but you know, we.

[00:26:36] Affect those scenarios. I tell people that it doesn't matter to me if you're the emperor of the world or a kid from the barrio, that everyone has a part to play in conservation. So a little thing like deciding where your dollars go, you're gonna tell those people what, what's important to you. So even with wildlife trafficking, I'm not only talking about purchasing a parrot.

[00:26:57] I'm also talking about when you travel, maybe you travel somewhere and they're offering pictures with a native animal. I know it sounds really great. You want that selfie for your social media handles. You don't know where the animal came from. You don't know if it got taken from its parents and now, you know, on the corner of a street somewhere getting pictures.

[00:27:14] All of its life. So. We need to think about these things when we travel. Even the feather of an animal. You know, I'm always, even the wood when I travel, if I'm buying a necklace, where did this wood come from? Where did the seed come from? Because oftentimes plants, wood material, all this is wildlife trafficking items, you know, and this can affect animals too.

[00:27:32] And we do it every day when we travel. I know travel, I love traveling, but I'm always asking those questions of where my dollars are going. The other one, besides wildlife traffic, which really is the big one, affecting parents, but of course deforestation is a, a big aspect Alaska. Lack of habitat. So these are some of the obstacles amongst others that are affecting overall parrot populations.

[00:27:51] But you know, I know I brought the mood down a little bit, but reminder that you can do really, really good things to support parrots in general. And Mother nature. Of course, I.

[00:28:00] Alex Re: Yeah. Can you talk a little bit more about how we can help maybe the average person feeling like you're so disconnected from parrots who live in an exotic place?

[00:28:10] You know, how can somebody who lives in maybe the United States help parrots?

[00:28:15] Marco Wendt: Yeah. You know, there's so many aspects to do. It. It, it's really like. How much do you wanna invest as an individual? Right? You can always volunteer to a nonprofit is what I always suggesting. Really, if you really wanna get knee deep into conservation, that's a great way to do it.

[00:28:29] There's many conservation centers around the world in your own backyard. For instance, we have a parrot sanctuary here outside of my company that offers homes for domesticated parrots that need a home. Volunteers from San Diego go and they help out, you know, take care of the parrots, feed them and whatnot.

[00:28:44] So you can volunteer. Volunteers or organization or a nonprofit. Not only that, you know, but also contributing and supporting your local zoos and aquariums, accredited zoos and aquariums are really important. And it sounds like an easy thing, but it speaks so much. 'cause you know, we, we do so much. And just to speak to my organization alone, you know, we're, I mentioned the two zoos.

[00:29:06] Safari Park in the San Diego Zoo. We do work with a local parrot that we only now we, we did have two local parrots in North America. By the way, the Carolina parakeet is now unfortunately extinct, which is super sad. We've had, we have a thick bill Parrot. This is the local parrot found in the Alpines of Mexico in North America whose numbers are dropping.

[00:29:24] Regrettably, I think it's less than 2000 adults, I think, at this point. But the point is that we have a breeding program here that we're working with to help establish, uh, uh. Population under human care and also sharing our information, whether it be nesting material or behavioral traits that we can share with our partners.

[00:29:41] And we have partners in Mexico that we're working with at the moment to help locate nesting sites where the wild, thick built pars in CI Madres in Mexico. And that way we can hopefully in the future, protect those areas so the no more we know about them, the more we can benefit them. And when guests come to our park, whether it be the Safari Park or the San Diego Zoo being the nonprofit that we are a easy thing like just coming in.

[00:30:02] Buying a ticket or maybe buying a little parrot plushy or eating a snack. You know, you're helping out on these conservation efforts and also even what we're doing now. Even if your listeners can re-listen to this episode, share it, pass it around, share knowledges of conservation. You know, there's so many things that everyone can do on a day to day, even a little thing like shopping.

[00:30:22] This will be my third one 'cause I can keep going forever. But another thing that people can do. When they're growing grocery shopping, think about what you buy. Again, we are the consumer. We tell those big companies what we want, not the other way around. I know it feels the other way around, but in reality it's us who really make the decisions.

[00:30:38] And I remind people a little thing like say what I do. I'm a big thing about reducing my plastic waste. But the other big one that will affect pirates as well. It's palm oil, so there's, it's an ingredient that many of us use, whether it be in cookies or in baking items. Go into your kitchen right now if you're listening to this episode, and just look how many things you have with palm oil, cookies, ice cream, I can, et cetera, et cetera.

[00:30:58] It's a monoculture, so it's a, it's a strategy of maybe eliminating a whole forest, saying Sinatra, or in the Amazon. Growing one crop, a palm that produces this nut that we use as human beings for different items. It's devastating populations all over the world. And there's an easy thing you can do. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo props to them 'cause they created a very cool app, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, a palm oil app, and all you gotta do is download it.

[00:31:23] So when you shop in, maybe shopping online. Just scan it, scan the item, and it'll tell you if it's sustainable palm oil, and that's a super easy thing to do at home. My husband, sometimes he rolls his eyes when I ask him when he bought something new, if it has palm oil, but hey, these, these are the things that we have to do right?

[00:31:39] Every single day. We have the power. I want everyone to know, especially our little kids out there, that, that you have the power to, to help change the world Also.

[00:31:47] Alex Re: That's so great, and that sounds like an awesome app. I'm definitely gonna have to download that.

[00:31:52] Marco Wendt: Yeah, it's a great app. I love it.

[00:31:54] Alex Re: Yeah, definitely.

[00:31:55] And it shows you don't have to actually spend money to make a difference. You can actually save money making a difference by just not buying something that has palm oil that is not harvested in a sustainable way.

[00:32:09] Marco Wendt: Exactly. Exactly right. Ryan.

[00:32:11] Alex Re: Great. Yeah. Well, Marco, thank you so much for coming on the podcast.

[00:32:15] I learned so much about parrots and how we can help them. Just that's amazing. That's, so -

[00:32:20] Marco Wendt: No, thank you, friend. Thanks for the opportunity. It's always great talking birds, in particular parrots. And yeah, don't forget, for all your listeners out there, go out in nature, right? Podcasts are great. I love podcasts.

[00:32:31] Thank you for this opportunity. But just a reminder for everyone. Go get connected with Mother Nature, right? We're a part of this big, beautiful blue planet with so many colors. So just remind yourselves that and support your local zoos and aquariums.

[00:32:44] Alex Re: Definitely. Let's leave it on that note then. Awesome. I love what Marco said about going into nature.

[00:32:51] It's something we can forget to do with our busy lives, but getting out there can really make you feel connected to the world around you. I know that I always feel rejuvenated after spending some time in nature. After all, we are animals too. Marco was such an awesome guest and I'm so glad he was able to come onto the show and give us his knowledge of parrots, as well as raise awareness to some of the issues that they're facing.

[00:33:17] We should all go support the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, as well as the Parrot Outreach Society and World Parrot Trust, who are all working to help captive and wild parrots. Thank you so much for coming on this adventure with me as we explore the world of parrots. You can find the sources that we use for this podcast and links to organizations that we reference@onwildlife.org.

[00:33:45] You can also email us with any questions at On Wildlife dot podcast@gmail.com, and you could follow us on Instagram at On Wildlife or on TikTok at On Wildlife. And don't forget to tune in next month for another awesome episode, and that's on Wildlife.

[00:34:09] Jess Avellino: You've been listening to On Wildlife with Alex Re. On Wildlife provides general educational information on various topics as a public service, which should not be construed as professional financial, real estate, tax, or legal advice. These are our personal opinions only. Please refer to our full disclaimer policy on our website for full details.