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Sponsor Chan

Chan the Man is a wild caught Moluccan Cockatoo.

He came to the Sanctuary in 2013 after having lived with his previous owner for 28 years. We are not sure of his exact age but he will be more than 30 years old.

Chan is a lovely gentle cockatoo, I have not yet come across a wild caught Moluccan that was not gentle. Being wild caught they never learnt all the unpleasant behaviours associated with captive bred hand reared cockatoos.

He is still a nervous bird even after all these years but once he trusts you he will let you stroke him. He was feather plucked when he arrived and in the summer months his feathers do improve when he is outside, but he has never fully regained his feathers.

Molucccans are noisy and loud and Chan is no exception, he has periods of screaming very loudly but his screams tend to be more associated with wild caught noises if that makes sense, not just a scream as a hand reared pet would make because it wants attention.

Moluccan cockatoos were critically endangered now they are still classified as vulnerable in the wild. Their habitat has been destroyed for palm plantations and other logging businesses and also they have been trapped in huge numbers for the pet trade. Sadly this still happens although illegal and just recently in March 2018 Moluccans were some of the cockatoos seized from a wildlife trader in the Philippines, smuggled out of Indonesia for the pet trade (again).

Chan seems to have adjusted to his life in captivity but it must be a world away from his wild origins and I wonder if he ever dreams about free flying.

Chan is now sponsored by

Lyn Tietjen

Thank you

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