I had a conure growing up. The thing yelled constantly, pooped everywhere and threw up all the time. In no way would I describe Sylvester as a sweet pet, but he was mostly tame and often fun to be…
From skunks to peacocks: The Bay Area animal stories that cheered us up this year
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From sheep to raccoons, animals kept us entertained with their antics this year.Blair Heagerty / SFGATE
2020 was a weird year. Even the animals agree. It started with a flood of nature is healing, we are the virus memes after some bogus news about dolphins returning to Venice canals went viral, and ended with . COVID-infected zombie mink rising from mass graves in Denmark? Yikes.
But it was the antics of birds, bears and raccoons that brought us comfort, laughter and amazement in this wild year. Because even when the world is falling apart, a cute cat video is just what the doctor ordered.
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Some of San Francisco s iconic wild parrots are sick. Meet the people who are saving them.
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As soon as she wakes up, the Chief Operations Officer of Mickaboo (a nonprofit bird rescue and adoption organization) spends two hours checking on each of the cherry-headed conures, most of whom are named after the San Francisco streets where they were found:
Injured or sick and therefore deemed non-releasable to their urban habitat, the parrots fostered by Lemarié are dwelling in her living room for the time being until they can find a permanent new home.
She feeds them a mix of pellets and fresh vegetables with a bit of fruit, usually lingering at the towel-lined cage belonging to Clay. Half of the wild parrots in Lemarié’s home show signs of bromethlian poisoning – a commonly used rodenticide – but Clay’s symptoms might be the most apparent: His head droops to the side. He can’t perch or fly very well. The towels,