Introducing African Grey Parrots

According to the Zoological Society of London, African Grey Parrots are “the greatest mimics of speech among the 350 or so known parrot species and they’re estimated to have the cognitive skills of a five year old human.” Due to their intelligence, ability to mimic sounds and bond with humans, African Grey Parrots are popular pets throughout the world. As a result, populations of this amazing bird species are declining due to poaching and the pet trade, as well as forest degradation in their rainforest habitat. The species is native only to equatorial Africa, including the Democratic Republic of Congo. Birds have not been studied systematically in the central Congo Basin, where the Kokolopori Nature Reserve is located, and the African Grey Parrot is one of the species expected to be found in the upcoming Kokolopori bird survey. The survey, an initiative of Vie Sauvage, Congo Education Partner’s (CEP) partner organization, is the first bird survey planned in the Kokolopori Reserve. It is important from a scientific perspective and is also a means of employing and educating local young people from Djolu Technical College (DTC) and the reserve about avifauna in the region. Vie Sauvage manages both DTC and the Kokolopori reserve.