It is usually the locals who go âtroppoâ during the tropical wet season in Australiaâs Northern Territory, however this year it is the native parrots.
âDrunkâ red-collared lorikeets have been found stumbling around, falling out of trees, or simply passed out around Darwin after being struck down by a mystery illness which causes them to display classic signs of human drunkenness.
Concerned locals have discovered the âpickled parrotsâ all over Darwinâs roads, yards and parklands and taken them to The Ark Animal Hospital in Palmerston, where veterinarians have been treating up to eight birds a day for the past few months.
âThey act quite like a drunken person would,â Lisa Hansen, a veterinary surgeon at the Ark Animal Hospital told The Times.
âThey stumble around and are very uncoordinated. Some have even fallen off their perches in the aviary.â
Earlier today one of the lorikeets was found in the bottom of an aviary at the clinic leaning up against the mesh.
âHe looked just like a drunken person leaning against a wall to keep himself upright,â Ms Hansen said.
Another glassy-eyed bird was lying on the floor of a cage, looking like he had just had a big night out. Others have been found with their heads under paper seemingly trying to block the world out, or wandering aimlessly around in an apparently intoxicated state.
Ms Hansen said another symptom of the bizarre illness which is similar to human drunkenness was the change in attitude of the usually âobnoxiousâ birds, which suddenly become âreally friendly and jovialâ.
They also appear to suffer hangovers â including headaches, disorientation, lethargy, and feeling generally unhappy â for a few weeks after they are sick, and some take months to recover. Others have died from the illness.
Link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article7142337.ece
âDrunkâ red-collared lorikeets have been found stumbling around, falling out of trees, or simply passed out around Darwin after being struck down by a mystery illness which causes them to display classic signs of human drunkenness.
Concerned locals have discovered the âpickled parrotsâ all over Darwinâs roads, yards and parklands and taken them to The Ark Animal Hospital in Palmerston, where veterinarians have been treating up to eight birds a day for the past few months.
âThey act quite like a drunken person would,â Lisa Hansen, a veterinary surgeon at the Ark Animal Hospital told The Times.
âThey stumble around and are very uncoordinated. Some have even fallen off their perches in the aviary.â
Earlier today one of the lorikeets was found in the bottom of an aviary at the clinic leaning up against the mesh.
âHe looked just like a drunken person leaning against a wall to keep himself upright,â Ms Hansen said.
Another glassy-eyed bird was lying on the floor of a cage, looking like he had just had a big night out. Others have been found with their heads under paper seemingly trying to block the world out, or wandering aimlessly around in an apparently intoxicated state.
Ms Hansen said another symptom of the bizarre illness which is similar to human drunkenness was the change in attitude of the usually âobnoxiousâ birds, which suddenly become âreally friendly and jovialâ.
They also appear to suffer hangovers â including headaches, disorientation, lethargy, and feeling generally unhappy â for a few weeks after they are sick, and some take months to recover. Others have died from the illness.
Link: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article7142337.ece
