Alex the parrot is gone.
Sep. 9th, 2007 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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manjinakon.
Alex The Grey Parrot, Colleague of Irene Pepperberg, Dead at 31
Even though Alex was a research animal, he was much more than that. He was both a teacher and colleague, as well as a long-term friend to Irene. This species of parrot generally lives to be 50-60 years old, so Alex was only middle-aged when he died. Alex had always been a healthy parrot, however, he once was gravely ill with aspergillosis, an infection of the lungs and other body tissues caused by the fungus, Aspergillus (my own experience with aspergillosis in parrots is that is is nearly impossible to cure). Despite this illness, Alex's cause of death will not be known until after a necropsy has been completed. A necropsy is an autopsy carried out on an animal's body.
Irene Pepperberg purchased Alex from a Chicago pet store in 1977, when he was approximately one year of age, or perhaps younger. Alex, being quite a character, quickly took over Pepperberg's life by teaching her all he knew about cognition and communication. As early as 1999, he was able to "identify 50 different objects and understand quantities up to 6; he could distinguish 7 colors and 5 shapes, and understand the concepts of 'bigger', 'smaller', 'same', and 'different', and he was learning 'over' and 'under'," according to the New York Times. By 2002, Alex had a vocabulary of more than 100 words.
Alex's abilities were not limited to the lab, however. As a television guest star, Alex deftly upstaged Alan Alda in an episode of Scientific American Frontiers on PBS. Later, in 1999, Pepperberg published The Alex Studies, which is a comprehensive review of her decades of learning about cognition and communication from Alex, research that she has applied to helping children with learning disabilities.
Even though Alex is gone, Pepperberg's work continues with Alex's two avian companions, both African grey parrots, Griffin and Wart (Arthur). If you would like to help keep her research going, please send a donation in Alex's memory to:
The Alex Foundation
c/o Dr. Irene Pepperberg
Department of Psychology/MS-062
415 South Street
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA 02454
==================================================================
I'll miss Alex - I thought the work Irene Pepperberg was doing with him was just wonderful, and I have enjoyed reading about him over the years.
manjinakon.Alex The Grey Parrot, Colleague of Irene Pepperberg, Dead at 31
Even though Alex was a research animal, he was much more than that. He was both a teacher and colleague, as well as a long-term friend to Irene. This species of parrot generally lives to be 50-60 years old, so Alex was only middle-aged when he died. Alex had always been a healthy parrot, however, he once was gravely ill with aspergillosis, an infection of the lungs and other body tissues caused by the fungus, Aspergillus (my own experience with aspergillosis in parrots is that is is nearly impossible to cure). Despite this illness, Alex's cause of death will not be known until after a necropsy has been completed. A necropsy is an autopsy carried out on an animal's body.
Irene Pepperberg purchased Alex from a Chicago pet store in 1977, when he was approximately one year of age, or perhaps younger. Alex, being quite a character, quickly took over Pepperberg's life by teaching her all he knew about cognition and communication. As early as 1999, he was able to "identify 50 different objects and understand quantities up to 6; he could distinguish 7 colors and 5 shapes, and understand the concepts of 'bigger', 'smaller', 'same', and 'different', and he was learning 'over' and 'under'," according to the New York Times. By 2002, Alex had a vocabulary of more than 100 words.
Alex's abilities were not limited to the lab, however. As a television guest star, Alex deftly upstaged Alan Alda in an episode of Scientific American Frontiers on PBS. Later, in 1999, Pepperberg published The Alex Studies, which is a comprehensive review of her decades of learning about cognition and communication from Alex, research that she has applied to helping children with learning disabilities.
Even though Alex is gone, Pepperberg's work continues with Alex's two avian companions, both African grey parrots, Griffin and Wart (Arthur). If you would like to help keep her research going, please send a donation in Alex's memory to:
The Alex Foundation
c/o Dr. Irene Pepperberg
Department of Psychology/MS-062
415 South Street
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA 02454
==================================================================
I'll miss Alex - I thought the work Irene Pepperberg was doing with him was just wonderful, and I have enjoyed reading about him over the years.
