Durrell says sad farewell to a much-loved feathered friend

Tuesday 27 December 2016

The last and much-loved echo parakeet living outside of Mauritius has died at Durrell just weeks after his 21st birthday.

Mr Brown lived in the wildlife park for 16 years and was a well-known and popular resident - not only for his fabulous green feathers but also for his tame, vivacious nature and amazing vocal repertoire.

At its worst the parakeet population in his native Mauritius was down to between eight and 12 birds.

Mr Brown came to Durrell in 2000, one of six parakeets imported from the wildlife sanctuary in Mauritius. Three of these birds were then exported to Paradise Park, in the UK due to a skew in sex ratio that resulted in a surplus of males that although incredibly precious, weren’t needed in the in situ breeding programme.

The remaining males were used primarily as part of an educational exhibit. As the years went by, Odei and Anaia passed away leaving one last living ambassador, ‘Mr Brown’, to tell the Mauritius story.

During this time, back in their native Mauritius, intensive efforts to restore the parakeet population were paying off.  A number of conservation management techniques including habitat protection and restoration, nest box provision and supplementary feeding were all undertaken; meaning that when Mr Brown died last week, he left a world where the total wild population had grown to an outstanding 600-700 birds.

Durrell says Mr Brown will be really missed.