How Wild Parrots Found Refuge in A Big City

Goldthread

Hong Kong’s city center has become an unexpected safe space for wild endangered cockatoos. But how did these parrots from Indonesia get there in the first place? And how did they manage to adapt to the city’s hustle and bustle?  If you’re interested in sustainability, we have more stories on our channel, including:  The Gold Rush for Mushrooms https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNFo0A_qOLo  Living Off the Grid in Hong Kong https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XthD01GfUfI&t=24s  And more episodes from our Wild series https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL92YWp8gq03FM7Nyqjv-3gDXSj_UjmMYo  **FOLLOW US ON IG, TWITTER, AND FACEBOOK: http://instagram.com/goldthread2 http://twitter.com/goldthread2 http://facebook.com/goldthread2  Producer and Reporter: Venus Wu Videographer and Editor: Joel Roche Animation: Ray Ngan Mastering: Joel Roche  Music: Audio Network

Transcript

00:03This is a critically endangered yellow-crested cockatoo.

00:06The bird has been nearly wiped out from its original habitat

00:09in Southeast Asia.

00:11Globally, there are only 2,000 left in the wild.

00:14But about 10% of them have found an unlikely

00:17sanctuary in Hong Kong.

00:29Although they’re not from China,

00:31 these beautiful, boisterous birds

00:33have found a new home in the concrete jungle.

00:43Astrid Andersson is a Ph.D. student who grew up in Hong Kong

00:46and is now studying the city’s wild cockatoos.

01:49The cockatoo has historically been a popular pet

01:51because of its intelligence and ability to perform tricks.

01:58YouTube is full of videos of dancing cockatoos.

02:02Even the voice of wildlife documentaries,

02:04David Attenborough, once kept a pet cockatoo.

02:07Sir David’s cockatoo was likely a sulphur-crested cockatoo,

02:10not a yellow-crested one.

02:14They look very similar to our endangered

02:16yellow-crested cockatoo,

02:17but the sulphur-crested cockatoo is larger, not threatened,

02:20and commonly seen in Australia and New Guinea.

02:24The yellow-crested cockatoos from Southeast Asian countries

02:27 like Indonesia are less fortunate.

02:30They are now critically endangered because of a

02:32double whammy of habitat loss and rampant pet trade.

03:04An international trade ban against wild-caught

03:06yellow-crested cockatoos came into force in 2002.

03:10But in spite of the potential five-year jail term in Indonesia,

03:14some smugglers still try to sneak these precious birds out.

03:17We asked Ande Kefi, a ranger in Indonesia,

03:20to tell us more about who the cockatoo poachers are.

03:45The poachers don’t earn much, but when the birds change hands,

03:48 that’s when the price goes up.

03:50Cockatoos can fetch quite a lot of money

03:52 at bird markets like this one in Hong Kong.

03:55During a recent visit, we saw a few cockatoos,

03:57including a smaller species that

03:59looks very similar to the endangered one.

04:02The seller said the bird was a sulphur-crested cockatoo,

04:04not the endangered one,

04:06but he was ambiguous about where the bird came from.

04:23In Hong Kong, it is still legal to trade endangered cockatoos

04:26 that are either bred in captivity or obtained before the trade ban,

04:30 but enforcement can be tricky.

04:34Meanwhile, the cockatoos in Hong Kong

04:36 have adapted to the urban environment in interesting ways,

04:39according to Astrid,

04:40who has traveled to Indonesia on research trips.

06:03Hi, if you like this story,

06:04we have more videos about sustainability.

06:07Check out our series called "Wild."

06:08And subscribe to Goldthread.

Transcript

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