A wildlife park’s unconventional approach to addressing its parrots’ swearing behavior seems to be yielding positive results.
In January, Lincolnshire Wildlife Park announced its intention to reintegrate eight parrots, previously kept in isolation due to their colorful language, with the rest of the flock in order to “dilute” the swearing.
Park manager Steve Nichols had initially expressed concerns about potentially having a hundred swearing parrots on their hands.
However, after two weeks of implementing the reintegration plan, keepers reported that they hadn’t heard any explicit language from the birds. Nichols remarked, “It’s still early days, but we’re off to a good start. There hasn’t been any of the really crude language.”
Despite this progress, visitors are still attempting to provoke the parrots into copying inappropriate words by swearing in front of them, Nichols noted.
He expressed hope that over time, the swearing birds would pick up more appropriate vocabulary and sounds from the rest of the flock.
In the meantime, signs warning sensitive individuals about the birds’ swearing habit remain in place, Nichols added.
Since the BBC initially reported on the plan to address the parrots’ language, Nichols has been inundated with media requests, conducting a total of 53 interviews with outlets from over 40 countries.
“It’s been covered in the media in places like New Zealand, the US, Japan—you name it. It’s definitely caused quite a stir,” Nichols said.
However, while the parrots may have ceased their swearing, a new issue seems to be emerging.
Nichols revealed, “One of them has taken to singing ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas’ repeatedly. It’s fine in December, but not so fitting in February.”