A parrot in a zoo in Jiangsu province, suspected of suffering from "depression" after being ignored by tourists, pecked off all its feathers, Yangtze Evening Post reported.

The parrot from Wuxi Zoo has been sent to a veterinary hospital for treatment.

A staffer at the zoo said the "depressed" parrot is a macaw of 7 or 8, who began pecking off its own feathers last year.

The macaw's behavior became worse during Spring Festival. An expert at the zoo explained the parrot thought it was not popular among tourists, felt "sad and bored," and started playing with its own feathers by pecking them off.

"Finding that tourists took no notice of it, the parrot began to peck off its feathers. It was another way to attract tourists," the expert said.

And when the parrot was moved indoors, away from tourists' view, it became more depressed. A feeder said the bird pecked off all its feathers after the move, and behaved manically.

An official at the zoo said the parrot needs at least three to six months to recover. "Parrots are intelligent, and dependent on human beings," he added.

Animal experts said animals with relatively high intelligence are more likely to become depressed.

According to people.com.cn, a 26-year-old parrot named Roy in Britain pecked off all its feathers while being kept in a garage for three years. It has been put on anti-depressants to recover from the trauma.

Related

• Zoo admits panda death under animal abuse backlash
• After giraffe uproar, Copenhagen Zoo kills 4 lions

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)