RIP Alex the Parrot, 31

Alex the African Gray Parrot, a subject for study at Brandeis University, has died at the age of 31, seemingly of natural causes.

This particularly intelligent gray parrot has been trained when presented with several objects to identify, distinguish and speak the object's color, shape, and material. He can also correctly tell which object is bigger or smaller than the other. Moreover he's been able to count items up to 6, and what's even more remarkable, may have some notions of the concept of zero.

As an aside, I love hearing stories about animals that display signs of the capability for reasoning. I like to think that mankind's role on this planet is like that of a caretaker, more like a gentle big brother and less like a domineering overlord. My thinking is that some people may feel justified in treating them as mere objects for consumption or exploitation, if all creatures were dumb or unthinking brutes. However, if some species show some evidence of logical reason, I would hope that we humans may feel more of a kinship towards them, and perhaps in the future we may become better guardians of their fate (and ours). Wouldn't that be nice?

Back to Alex. It is true, that being called a birdbrain has never been a compliment on one's intellect. However the person who came up with that epithet presumably has never met Alex the parrot.

Link: NYTimes