“What a good bird!”
The Animal Embassy at The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is otherwise quiet this weekday morning. The voice rings out loud and clear, a strong voice that hangs in the air but seems to be attached to? nobody.
“Pretty bird!”
No human body, anyway.
“I love you!”
And what?s not to love? The reflection in the mirror is stunning. Sparkling gold eyes set in a sleek, winged body of brilliant rainbow. This is Louie, a seven-year-old green winged macaw, one of more than 70 Animal Ambassadors in The Maryland Zoo?s collection of education animals. All live at the “Embassy” on the ground floor of the zoo?s animal hospital. This morning, Louie perches in his enclosure, paying himself compliments.
Louie isn?t the only parrot with personality at the Embassy. “Echo says hello when the phone rings,” says Amy Eveleth, the Embassy?s Collection and Handling Manager. “Paco loves cardboard boxes. He?ll tear a hole in the side, rush in and laugh like a pirate. All of the parrots mimic keepers, so we?re careful what we say.”
The parrots and other ambassadors are stars of the zoo?s education programs. They do more than any person could to educate and interest people in wildlife and wild places. They are featured in zoo camps and school programs as well as traveling ZOOmobile programs. They even make television appearances.
If you stop by the Animal Outpost at the zoo, you might catch sight of Louie. Pay him a compliment if you like but please, no autographs. ? The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
