Good News: This macaw is finally ready for take-off after a zoo gave him flying lessons
Cincinnati Zoo had an unusual problem: a 21-year-old macaw who couldn't fly!
The blue and gold bird arrived at the zoo after being kept as a pet. As a caged bird, he'd never had the opportunity to fly. And having never been around other birds, he'd had no example to follow, says trainer Sarah Paese.
"It is actually a learned behavior," said Sarah. "They would learn from their parents leaving the nest. So, Harley, being a pet, didn't get that opportunity."
Together with fellow trainer Ellen Yeardley, Sarah set about building Harley's confidence, ready for flight training.
"We started with asking him to just do a long step to our hand and shift his weight a little bit and then lean forward," says Sarah. "And then from there, we just increased the distance between purchase, and had him kind of problem solve and figure out how to get from A to B."
After several months of daily training, Harley was eventually brave enough to try a few short flights.
Watch the video to see Harley take off!
"He's building muscle, he's building skill and just learning to trust his wings," says Ellen. "I think we'd love to see him flying across the theater in front of like an audience. But honestly, I think the biggest one is just seeing him grow his confidence in himself, in his environment and just really learning to embrace that sassy, confident macaw that's within."
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