Major Search Operation

Two Parrots Are Still Missing in the Woods

A female parrot shortly after she was captured(Bild: Tierengel Austria Tierrettung)

A total of eight exotic birds had been released into a forest near Schlatt (Upper Austria). Six have since been rescued by Tierrettung Austria, but there is still no sign of one pair of birds.

Tuesday marked the seventh day of the search for several exotic parrots abandoned in a forest in Schlatt—as reported by the “Krone.”

“On Monday, two more birds were captured, but one pair is still missing,” says Franziska Greil, chairwoman of the Innviertel Animal Welfare Initiative, where the found animals are receiving expert care and loving attention.

Severe Stress
For the rescued parrots, spending several days outdoors, being captured, and the subsequent transport to the Innviertel region clearly caused a great deal of stress. “Among other things, this is affecting their appetite, and one of the birds has diarrhea,” confirms the chairwoman.

The two parrots captured on Monday are now also being cared for by the Innviertel Animal Welfare Initiative, along with four of their fellow parrots.(Bild: Tierengel Austria Tierrettung)

An Unusually Large Number of Eggs
One of the birds—a female—apparently had to be transported to the Innviertel Animal Welfare Initiative along with a nesting box that had been hanging in the forest, which contained six parrot eggs, and housed there together in a quarantine room. “The size of the clutch puzzled us, because normally macaws lay two to a maximum of three eggs,” Greil emphasizes. But there won’t be any offspring anyway, as the female likely ate all the eggs due to stress.

There were six parrot eggs in this nest box.(Bild: Tierengel Austria Tierrettung)

Motive Remains a Mystery
It is completely unclear why the parrots were abandoned. According to the police, however, there is a suspect: a 38-year-old man from the Wels-Land district.

“I don’t think the parrots were mistreated by their owner, because they tend to be quite friendly toward people,” says Greil. Some, like the female parrot “Frida,” have even started to speak: “She says ‘Good night’ loud and clear.”