Bear, a Moluccan cockatoo parrot from Indonesia, rested on Arvada resident John Krenetsky’s shoulders Sunday afternoon as a scorching sun beat down.
It’s been Bear’s favorite place since he perched himself on the 68-year-old’s left shoulder five years ago, pressed his orange-streaked head against him and said: “I love you.”
“It was then that I knew this was my bird,” said Krenetsky, who was at a parrot memorial garden dedication Sunday at the Aviary and Adoption Center in Elizabeth.
The memorial garden for deceased parrots helps show that the birds are complex creatures that have special needs, organizers said.
“Living with a parrot isn’t like living with a dog or cat,” said Julie Murad, founder of The Gabriel Foundation, a nonprofit that cares for parrots and administers the center. “We want to love on them like we do a dog or cat, but we can’t. They’re still wild.”
The foundation has cared for about 1,000 parrots since its creation in 1996 and has found permanent homes for about 600.
It was named after Murad’s parrot, Gabriel, a Hyacinth macaw who died before he turned 2 years old.
“Parrots are the most endangered species of birds,” she said.
A lot of people abandon their parrots because of behavioral problems and their loud noise.
On Sunday, shrill parrot calls floated in the air throughout the center.
There was Rio, a blue yellow-naped Amazon, one of only about 40 in the world.
There was Baby, a nearly 27-year-old green-winged macaw who gently flapped around in his cage, playing with various toys, branches and rope.
Parrots generally don’t bite, but just because the creatures don’t use the raw power of their beaks – Baby’s has 2,000 pounds of pressure per square inch – doesn’t mean they can’t.
“If they wanted to, they could snap a broomstick in half with their beak,” said Karen VanderHyde, avian specialist for the foundation.
They can have life spans up to a hundred years and are social animals. And they deserve dignity in death, she said.
VanderHyde petted Norman, a nearly 50-year-old African grey Congo parrot, and showered him with kisses, to which the nearly blind bird responded with an approving whistle.
For Krenetsky, a parrot is the best pet anyone could have.
“He’s your friend, and he doesn’t care who you are,” he said. “You could be the worst person in the world, but as long as you treat him as your friend, he’ll be your friend.”
Staff writer Vimal Patel can be reached at 303-954-1638 or vpatel@denverpost.com.
