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The Parrots of San Francisco
#1
There have been parrots living wild in San Francisco for many years now. They originally lived on Telegraph Hill and were made famous by a documentary  The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.  

In case you are interested in seeing it I am sure it is still available and I will post a link when I find one.

This is a video of the parrots.
https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S...o-15952346



It seems that the few dozen birds now number more than three hundred and have spread out from Telegraph Hill.
They are a popular tourist attraction.

https://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStory/s...y-57035136

Of course the real question is always "Where did they come from?"

https://www.kqed.org/news/11185731/where...-come-from

In other words, no one is sure where they come from. They clearly must be escaped or released pets. Could so many people have released pets at the same time? Maybe. Once a small flock was established people would think it was a good idea to release an unwanted pet to join them.  It sounds like their future is uncertain. It always was uncertain. San Francisco is not their natural habitat. They have done well to survive for now, but there are many problems for non native species. Right now it is disease, but unsuitable diet and unsuitable climate have always been a problem. They have been wild for generations so they would not be happy as pets. This is not as serious as the Canmore Bunnies, but the outcome might not be much better in the end.
Maybe it depends on the people of San Francisco and whether they want their parrots and will help look after them.
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Catherine

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#2
I am only guessing here, but Parrots have quite long life spans don't they? If someone had released one or two -(or those had escaped) -then if something similar happened say five or ten years later, they could have bred.
There might have been a time when having Parrots as pets was particularly "fashionable"....but some escaped into the wild and obviously created more and more...
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#3
Quote:I am only guessing here, but Parrots have quite long life spans don't they? If someone had released one or two -(or those had escaped) -then if something similar happened say five or ten years later, they could have bred.

There might have been a time when having Parrots as pets was particularly "fashionable"....but some escaped into the wild and obviously created more and more...

That is what they think really happened. No one really believes the story about the pet store letting them go. They were popular and many were imported. If even one every year or so was lost they live long enough to meet up and pair off and lay eggs.
It would take a few years before there were enough to be noticeable. Once it was known that there was a flock of parrots people who were tired of their bird would turn it loose near them. There was even a different similar species released that crossed with them.

A parrot is a big commitment and people who get them don't always look at what that commitment involves. 
It was just fortunate that the birds could survive. I think there are bird flocks in other cities, but this is the most famous.

There are flocks elsewhere, even in Europe.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_parrot

Nature is very adaptable and parrots are especially clever. They know enough to find humans to feed them and they stay in the cities so they must be using the city habitats to survive. Parrots are survivors.
[Image: IMG_9091.JPG]
Catherine

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