Who’s a clever boy then? Missing parrot in Dubai checks in to the vets

DUBAI // A blue-and-gold macaw that went missing in Dubai has been reunited with his owner – after it flew to the British Veterinary Hospital where its owner’s wife works.

Rio the two-year-old parrot went out for his regular flight around Jumeirah. The bird has never been kept in a cage and is frequently taken on desert trips where he flies above his owner’s five dogs.

Usually, a call is enough to get him to return, but on Sunday all Steve Thompson could do was watch helplessly as a flock of crows surrounded his parrot. Rio, in a bid to escape the attack, flew up and up and away, in the direction of Safa Park.

When he failed to return a search operation was put into place, involving his owner driving along Al Wasl Road in rush-hour traffic and “shouting in the sky”, calling for the bird to return. “It was so upsetting,” said Mr Thompson, who spent the night going over different scenarios of what could have happened to Rio.

One option was that the crows succeeded in their hunting strategy, driving the parrot to exhaustion and attacking him when he landed. Humans capturing him was also a possibility. Rio, being a very friendly bird, could have been trapped and sold.

Dr Sara Elliott, from the British Veterinary Hospital on Al Wasl Road, said that changing owners is not easy for macaws, who are highly social birds and can often see their human as a life-long mate.

“They are very intelligent birds and bond very closely with the owner,” she said.

Being a captive bird, Rio would have found it difficult to fend on his own in the wild, she said.

“It is very much like letting a baby out there,” said Dr Elliott.

The search for Rio resumed at 4am on Monday, but he still could not be found.

Mr Thompson also posted a message on Facebook and contacted the British Veterinary Hospital, where his dogs are normally treated, and where his wife, Adriana, works. Whether the bird recognised the location is not clear, but he dropped in and landed on the arm of vet worker Sarah Keogh.

“I think it was an absolute fluke,” said Dr Elliott when asked whether Rio, who had never before visited the clinic, could have flown there deliberately. “But birds do recognise people, clothing and places so it would be nice to think he had enough familiar markers to see us as a safe option.”

“His owners were there within three minutes of him being found,” said Dr Elliott.

Cases of missing pets are unfortunately common, she added. Dubai Municipality requires that pets are registered and fitted with microchips or rings with a unique number, although not all pet owners adhere to the requirements.

Now that Rio has been reunited with his owner, he is again following him everywhere. The bird is a regular at the Dubai Polo Academy, where Mr Thompson works.

Rio has also acquired quite a bit of social-media fame. Mr Thompson’s distressed message travelled as far as the United States, and since Rio’s return was announced, strangers have been contacting his owner to congratulate him. “I have never been subject to anything like this,” said Mr Thompson. “The poor little thing went viral.”

vtodorova@thenational.ae