There's a parrot someone keeps on a balcony across the street who makes wolf whistles. It's pretty funny. I love parrots, especially African greys, but I don't agree with keeping birds as pets. They should fly free. And parrots are very intelligent, intelligent as a four-year-old, and they're very very sociable. They need lots of interaction and can't be kept in a corner all the time. If neglected, they actually start losing their minds and plucking all their feathers out.
On the subject of companion animals, I personally don't believe that we need any others besides dogs and cats, and only because they've been domesticated for thousands of years. Otherwise, animals should be left alone, in my opinion. Don't like "exotics." Even fish, I don't like the thought of confining to aquariums. I used to be an enthusiastic aquarist and I know that some fish, like cichlids, are extremely intelligent, smarter than some land animals. They understand their situation. Furthermore, it's unlikely that in captivity they'd receive the space they really need. The only fish I keep anymore are betta splendens, in a divided ten-gallon tank so that each gets approximately three gallons to himself. They're active and seem very happy.
Years ago I went to the San Diego Zoo and visited the gorilla enclosure. While the gorillas have been given a nice setup, a far cry from the horrible cages of yesteryear, they're still in captivity and they know it. In the faces of the older ones is a chiseled and stony resignation. There was a little baby gorilla there, who was approaching the glass, clowning around and playing. The mother nearby was wary and protective, not interested in interacting with the human crowd, and it was clear that she sat there only to monitor her baby. I caught her eye and waved at her, and she gave me a long look of utter contempt. I'll never forget that.
posted by Newpeep, N.D. (neurotic depressive) @ 10:31 AM
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