Parrot gets 'depressed' after being neglected, pecks off feathers   

無錫動物園一鸚鵡啄光羽毛 疑因游客不理“抑郁”

揚子晚報記者昨天從無錫動物園了解到，因為覺得自己被游客“忽視”，動物園里一只金剛鸚鵡得了“抑郁癥”，不停地啄自己的羽毛，最后將自己全身啄得光禿禿的，無奈之下，動物園最后只得將這只金剛鸚鵡送到獸醫院進行治療。對此，無錫動物園鳥類專家稱，像鸚鵡這樣的高智商動物，喜歡與人相處，如果感到人類不理它，就可能“內心郁悶”而出現類似行為，動物專家還呼吁人類多去關注動物的“內心世界”。 [查看全文]

(ECNS) – A parrot in a zoo in Jiangsu province, suspected of suffering from "depression" after being ignored by tourists, pecked off all its feathers, Yangtze Evening Post reported.

The parrot from Wuxi Zoo has been sent to a veterinary hospital for treatment.

A staffer at the zoo said the "depressed" parrot is a macaw of 7 or 8, who began pecking off its own feathers last year.

The macaw's behavior became worse during Spring Festival. An expert at the zoo explained the parrot thought it was not popular among tourists, felt "sad and bored," and started playing with its own feathers by pecking them off.

"Finding that tourists took no notice of it, the parrot began to peck off its feathers. It was another way to attract tourists," the expert said.

And when the parrot was moved indoors, away from tourists' view, it became more depressed. A feeder said the bird pecked off all its feathers after the move, and behaved manically.

An official at the zoo said the parrot needs at least three to six months to recover. "Parrots are intelligent, and dependent on human beings," he added.

Animal experts said animals with relatively high intelligence are more likely to become depressed.

According to people.com.cn, a 26-year-old parrot named Roy in Britain pecked off all its feathers while being kept in a garage for three years. It has been put on anti-depressants to recover from the trauma.