These foul-mouthed parrots had to be separated after cursing at wildlife park visitors
Five African gray parrots at the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in the United Kingdom had to be separated after they kept encouraging each other to swear at visitors.
The foul-mouthed offenders — Billy, Elsie, Eric, Jade, and Tyson — arrived at the park in August, and right off the bat, workers learned they weren't shy. "We are quite used to parrots swearing but we've never had five at the same time," Lincolnshire Wildlife Park CEO Steve Nichols told PA Media. "Most parrots clam up outside, but for some reason these five relish it."
The parrots loved the shocked reactions from visitors, which made them curse even more, and while no one ever complained about the profane birds, officials decided to move the culprits to separate parts of the park so they don't "set each other off." Nichols hopes the parrots learn natural calls from the park's other African grays, but isn't upset over their use of colorful language. "When a parrot tells you to f--k off, it amuses people very highly," he said. "It's brought a big smile to a really hard year." Catherine Garcia
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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