Remebering Alex the Talking African Grey Parrot
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We just received some very sad news today.
One of the most famous birds around is Alex, the African Grey. This highly intelligent bird has been the focal point of research by Dr. Irene Pepperberg, and the research staff at the Brandeis University Department of Psychology.
For the past 30 years, Dr. Pepperberg has been working with Alex by teaching it colors, the alphabet, and how to count. He can identify objects and shapes. He has totally amazed people with his intelligence, and was in the process of learning phonics.
On September 7th, Alex was found dead in his cage of unknown causes. Tests are being performed and results will be released in a few days on what caused the death.
This news really hit hard me today. I have been following the progress of this little guy for years, and was amazed at every new discovery.
So much has been written about him that I couldn’t possibly cover it all in this tiny area. But here are some of the many links about him, his achievements, and the research behind the Alex Foundation. For more information on the Alex Foundation visit
http://www.alexfoundation.org/
For an excellent article on Alex, you can visit
http://www.parrotchronicles.com/fall2001/parrotpeople.htm
Want to see Alex in action? (Please wait for the video to load…)
I’d love to hear your views on using Alex in a laboratory like that. Do you think it is wrong? Or you believe this was a big step for people’s understanding of birds. Please leave your comments below! Thank you!
Tags: alex african grey, alex african grey parrot, alex african grey video, alex foundation, alex talking parrot, alex the african grey, alex the african grey video
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gayle mc neil said,
January 11, 2008 @ 3:40 am
I saw alex on a tv documentry and he was so cute and amazing. I did feel sorry for him as he did not get to go home at night and was stuck in that labatory all night. do u think that all the stimulation he got mentaly contributed to his passing early?
gayle mc neil said,
January 11, 2008 @ 4:33 am
Hi i saw a tv documentry all about alex, i own an african gray myself, i thought he was amazing, although i felt sorry that he was kept in the laborory over night. If you dont mind me asking, do u think that all the mentle stimulation that he got may have contributed to his passing? As they would not get all this in the wild.