Cockatoo Going Home for the First Time Does the Best Excited Dance
We've all been to a vet's office where they have some kind of pet of their own, right? At least in the US, it's pretty common for vets to have "resident" pets, and it's almost never just a cat or a dog.
One famous vet's office on TikTok has a couple of different resident pets, but the best one is a little Cockatoo. On Monday, February 5th, some of those animals got to actually go "home" with the employees of the office, and it's kind of amazing:
Fixchix Rescue is a vet's office where they take in rescue birds as well as treat others, so they have quite a few resident birds, including this guy. My vet's office has two tortoises named Ruth and Harriet!
Cumulus, the White Cockatoo in the video, is the most notorious of all the Fixchix residents. He's gone viral countless times for his antics, which include things like:
- Screaming for fun.
- Stealing pens, pencils, and other office supplies.
- Waking up the rest of the birds.
- Singing very loudly.
According to Fixchix, Cumulus came to them when a local rescue picked him up out of a shelter, which is unfortunately a very popular place for exotic birds like him to end up. People get them as babies thinking they can handle them, but then they get bigger, louder, and harder to handle. Exotic birds also require very specific climates, have high vet costs, and long lifespans that can just be too much.
For Cumulus, he was taken in by Fixchix with a prolapsed anus, which is typically the result of an improper diet. Since he landed there, though, he's fully recovered and transformed into the drama king we all know and love!
White Cockatoos Are a Protected Species
Despite the fact that a large percentage of the people who take in birds like Cumulus end up surrendering them, thousands of these birds are sold every single year. To keep up with the demand, they're constantly facing illegal capture in the wild; these wild caught birds typically get sold to breeders rather than to individuals.
Their desirability, coupled with consistent habitat loss over the last few decades, have earned White Cockatoos a spot on the IUCN's Red List. They're currently listed as endangered, and their population is continually decreasing. And yet, people who know nothing about exotic birds are still scooping them up.
If you really want to get one of these birds and you're experienced enough to do it right, more power to you! If at all possible, look into exotic bird rescues in your area: odds are, there's one there waiting. Rescue birds might take a little bit more work to tame, but it's worth it to know you're doing good for the bird and the environment alike!
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