Story Bird: Bonito
MY GREENWING
MACAW'S NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE
Luckily, I went into Bonito's room to switch off the TV, and there Bonito was
struggling with a rope toy that was wrapped around his neck and hanging upside
down by his feet, pulling away. Obviously, he was scared and wrapped himself,
along with the rope, around his "boinging" (rope coil) toy too.
Bonito has a mass of thick beautiful feathers around his tiny neck, so it took
me a while to figure out which way the rope was wrapped around.
Try pushing a huge panicky GW Macaw backwards, towards something he's wanting to
get away from.
I had to first unwind him from the "boinger", to give me some slack, and then
get the rope from around his neck, which was really hard to do. Meanwhile he's
making scary little sounds (like gasping). It was horrific and scary.
He would have strangled himself to death, in his panic, if timing wasn't on my
side that day and my boyfriend hadn't left the TV on loud, before he left for
work.
I kept a good eye on Bonito for the rest of the day, which wasn't difficult, as
he wanted to be attached to me all day, giving lots of hugs, like one big baby.
He's doing great and back on his tree stand playing with his other "safe" toys
Editor's Note: We have long maintained that toys with rope pose an extraordinary hazard for birds, that there are other materials from which to make toys that, while any material can be dangerous to any bird, would be safer, such as leather strips or chrome or stainless skewers and bolts. Many birds play with rope toys for years without incident, and then one day the accident happens. -- Joe
