Friday, September 14, 2007

Alex the Parrot Has Died


I'm so sad to learn that Alex, the well-known African Grey parrot of researcher Dr. Irene Pepperberg, died suddenly on Sept. 6. I've mentioned Alex previously in this blog. Irene's work with Alex was ground-breaking. Through Irene's well-designed scientific studies, Alex revealed to the world that birds have a tremendous intelligence -- far more going on upstairs than anyone had realized.

I consider myself fortunate to have met Alex and Dr. Pepperberg while I was at Northwestern and to have visited them on occasion when they were at the University of Arizona. I considered Alex to be an avian friend; and my heart goes out to Irene, who has continued to be a human friend over the years.
This is a sad time for all who knew and loved Alex.
Here are a couple of links about Alex's passing:

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