100-Year-Old Cockatoo Named Fred Receives Centenary Letter From The Queen
It’s very rare that a sulphur-crested cockatoo lives much past the age of 40, but a bird called Fred, who resides at the Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Australia, just celebrated his 100th birthday, and even received a traditional Centenary letter from the Queen herself!
Daily Mail Australia reported that Greg Irons, Director of Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary near Hobart, told them that the talking bird, named Fred, enjoyed his 100th birthday bash, which was thrown for him by staff at the sanctuary.
“We aren’t 100 percent sure but we think that he is well past. He was 95-years-old when I started working, which was 10 years ago — we just waited a bit longer to make sure he is past 100,” he said.
According to Irons, Fred is in great shape for his age.
“He is in really good nick and even though he isn’t as active as the younger ones he is still remarkable for the way he carries on. He doesn’t do a lot of flying, still dances, sings and talks a lot. He behaves like a two-year-old,” Irons said.
In fact, according to Irons, Fred hasn’t so much as even , and apart from a few nicks and scratches, is in great health.
“He is a resilient little character – we all love him here.” he said.
The Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, which is famous for taking in birds from owners who can no longer care for them, received Fred 20 years ago through a woman’s will.
“He [Fred] was originally owned for decades by a lady who passed away. Fred was then looked after by her family who had to move. The lady actually requested in her will to give Fred to us, so they gave him to us,” shared Irons.
Irons also shared that Fred’s beak grows with age, like most birds.
“Because his beak keeps growing as he gets older we have had to monitor it by making sure we feed him food that helps to slow it down.”
Members of the public and the Wild Child Kids Club took part in Fred’s 100th birthday celebration, dressing up in cockatoo suits and helmets while they enjoyed face painting and a barbecue.
Irons ended by saying, “Fred doesn’t think he is a bird, he thinks he is a person, so when he has all that human attention he loves it. It was so touching to see everyone here. It says a lot about animals in general.”
