Pet Forum / Birds / Parrots / October 2007

"DebbieK" <dkrug@nospam.net> wrote in message

Thanks for the link, I enjoyed reading all the questions and answers.

Unfortunately, there is little there to change my beliefs that ALEX
might have been "overworked to death" so to speak.

A lot of anthropomorphising is going on with respect to ALEX
as many people assume a birds brain handles mental exercise as
easily as humans'.  That may not be true and what looks to us
like play, may in reality be hard and stressful labor for another
species brain.

With respect to ALEXes plucking ONLY while Dr.Pepperberg
is traveling, or gone, there may be another grave error being
commited.

That of mistaking correlation with causation!

It may not be that Alex plucked because Dr.Pepperberg was
gone, presumably the CAUSE being that he missed her, but
it may be that when she was gone was he had the time to do

It is very likely that being subject to mental exercises for 8-12
hours a day the stressed out bird simply had no time left during
the day to engage in plucking.  (Dr.Pepperberg clearly states
that this was his usual workday load/routine, during his entire life,
i.e.8-12 hours.).

Only when she was gone he may have had time to pluck,
and what we think is Causation, in reality might be just
Correlation, with free time (!).

Endless military drills and constant marching exercises
keep the troops busy and not complaining- everyone who has
been in the military knows that.  ALEXes 8-12 hour days might
have had the same or similar effect!

In other words, they might have purposely kept him extremely
busy, so the stressed out bird would't even have the time to pluck.

M.J.