There鈥檚 a special bird at the Vancouver Aquarium聽that鈥檚 spreading festive cheer.
Meet Cosmo. Like many of us, the blue-fronted Amazon parrot can鈥檛 help but sing along when Mariah Carey鈥檚 All I Want For Christmas Is You comes on the radio.
She lives in the Graham Amazon Gallery along with Gino, a double yellow-fronted Amazon parrot, scarlet ibises, red-footed tortoises, and more feathery friends.
But you鈥檒l probably hear Cosmo before you see her.
Andrea Cotter, assistant curator at the Amazon, says the 21-year-old parrot is very vocal and seems to love power ballads by female artists the most (think Adele or Whitney Houston).
鈥淚n addition to Mariah Carey鈥檚 All I Want For Christmas Is You, Cosmo also quite likes Bing Crosby鈥檚 rendition of I鈥檒l Be Home For Christmas," she said. Cotter says enrichment is an important part of animal care at the Aquarium and sessions take different forms based on the animal.
鈥淔or the parrots, enrichment is quite varied,鈥� she said. 鈥淪ometimes it's a change of scenery or exposing them to new places, sights, smells, and sounds 鈥� like playing music.
鈥淔or Cosmo, who sings along to the radio or joins in when her care team are humming or whistling while they work, music enrichment is a favourite. Her team has also told me that she likes to mimic the sounds she hears 鈥� like a siren ('woo-woo') or a crying baby.鈥�
Cosmo has been in the Aquarium鈥檚 care for the past eight years now and over time she has become quite the entertainer 鈥� she's even got music videos on .
鈥淐osmo was a pet and, due to exceptional circumstances at the time, was taken in by the Aquarium [the Aquarium usually doesn鈥檛 take in surrendered pets]," Cotter says.
The Aquarium posted Cosmo鈥檚 musical talents on its page on Friday and viewers can鈥檛 get enough of it. It's already been viewed more than 13,000 times and she鈥檚 fast becoming known as the caroling parrot.
Visitors to the Aquarium can learn more about Cosmo, Gino and parrots in general by visiting the Amazon Gallery or during the Meet a Parrot program that takes place in the Teck Engagement gallery at 11:40 a.m. on Wednesdays.
Similar to playing music for the birds, the Meet a Parrot program acts as an enriching experience for the animals. It also gives visitors a chance to get up close to the incredible birds and learn more about their species, the challenges that they are facing in the wild with a rapidly declining habitat, and how people can help.
Visitors can also go to the Graham Amazon Gallery for bird training sessions daily at 1:30 p.m.
