London (CNN) — Five parrots have been removed from public view at a British wildlife park after they started swearing at customers.
The
foul-mouthed birds were split up after they launched a number of
different expletives at visitors and staff just days after being donated
to Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in eastern England.
"It just went ballistic, they were all swearing," the venue's chief executive Steve Nichols told CNN Travel on Tuesday. "We were a little concerned about the children."
"I get called a fat t**t every time I walk past," Nichols complained.
The
African grey parrots -- named Eric, Jade, Elsie, Tyson and Billy --
were given to the park from five different owners within the same week,
and shared a quarantining facility together before being placed on
display.
But staff immediately noticed that the birds shared a propensity to fly off the handle.Related contentIt's not just humans and apes who help each other. Parrots do too
Lincolnshire Wildlife Park
"They
literally, within a very short period of time, starting swearing at
each other," Nichols said. "'F**k off' is the most common one," he
explained -- "it's a very easy one for them to learn" -- but the birds
would utter "anything you can think of."
Most
customers enjoyed the talent once the parrots were displayed. "The
visitors were giving them as much back as what they were giving to
them," Nichols said.
But
concern for younger customers forced staff to split up the birds and
temporarily remove them from the park's public areas. Staff now hope the
birds' language will become more family-friendly now that they have
been separated.
"To
take in a swearing parrot isn't an unusual thing, it's something that
happens probably three or four times a year," Nichols said.
But
the pandemic has led to a surge in donations, as owners spend more time
with their birds and decide to give them to parks that can provide them
with a larger living space, he explained.
"We would normally take in one or two parrots in a fortnight. Today we took in eight," he said.
African
greys are among the most popular species of parrot. Around 1.1 million
indoor birds were kept as pets in the UK in 2019, according to the Pet Food Manufacturers' Association.
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