Parrot takes serious liking to visitor at nature park

This little parrot lives at a nature park and rehab centre in Papua New Guinea. A smart little creature, he watched intently from the trees as this Canadian tourist entered the enclosure and took a few pictures and video. He seemed curious and decided to approach for a closer look. The little parrot landed on a branch right beside Dave and looked at him expectantly.

Dave slowly extended his hand toward the parrot and he eagerly climbed onto Dave's hand and made his way up to his shoulder. After a few squawks and curious nibbles at Dave's hair, the little fellow began rubbing his chest on Dave's neck and acting as if he might be settling down for a nap. Or perhaps it was a little misguided attempt at affection.

Dave couldn't see what the little bird was up to but it was both ticklish and amusing at the same time. Kristy and Peter tried to coax the bird over to one of their arms but he would have no part of that. After a few minutes, Dave put the bird back on a branch and said goodbye. Whether or not this is a frequent occurrence for this friendly little parrot is hard to say, but he has obviously learned to trust humans and to treat new guests as potential friends.

This nature park is home to a variety of animals, birds, bats, and reptiles. The park takes in injured or abandoned animals and those that have been seized from unlawful homes or unlawful trade. The animals are given proper housing and care and they enjoy a very decent life here at the park. Some of the animals actually roam free and are able to come and go as they please. Facilities like this one aid in rehabilitaion of animals and they make a serious contribution to local conservation by conducting head start programs. These innovative projects involve hatching reptile eggs and helping the hatchlings survive the early stages of life. They are then released into the wild. This assists the animals by ensuring that more of them will survive to sexual maturity and breed in the wild.

This park also conducts educational programs for adults and children and it contributes financially to conservation programs. The park has preserved a large stretch of jungle that contains specific trees needed by the local species of birds and bats. Ethical and beneficial parks such as this one are having a very beneficial effect on wildlife throughout the country. Nature lovers who want to ensure that they are supporting only ethical zoos and parks can find ample information online about how the parks are run and how the animals are treated. It's important that we don't support unethical treatment of animals by paying for entry to facilities that imprison animals solely for entertainment and tourism.