You ever see a picture or video of an animal doing cool animal stuff and think “I wish that was me”?
Well that’s how I feel about Mickey, the cockatoo who has been living inside a Sydney Coles for four weeks living on stolen food.
It is believed that Mickey flew in through the loading dock of a Coles in Campbelltown’s Macarthur Square, and has remained inside for almost a month surviving on a diet of whatever he wants from Coles.
Shoppers at the centre have become accustomed to the bird living in the building, footage of him has gone viral on Facebook, and managers of the Coles he is trapped in are reportedly “very fond of the bird”.
Alas, Mickey is still trapped in an unnatural environment, and wildlife experts fear for his health and safety — even if he is eating “really well”.
“The poor bird hasn’t had any dark for over four weeks and has been living on brioche and water,” a member of the Sydney Metropolitan Wildlife Services wrote to Facebook.
In a post made on Tuesday morning, the members explained how yet another “exhausting” attempt to save Mickey had been unsuccessful, however he has now left the Coles and is instead flying around the Macarthur Square shopping complex.
“Two traps left but with so much food in the store, who knows if that will work. Hopefully, we exhausted him so much he will come down to a trap for water,” read the post.
After fears that a “kill order” had been put out against the cockatoo, NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe appeared on 2GB radio to assure fans that “Mickey will be freed”.
“Mickey the cockatoo is not going to be shot,” reassured the minister.
“I have directed the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to find out how we can help Mickey and the team at Coles.”
Sharpe’s office confirmed that no “kill order” was ever put out by the government or Coles were entirely false, and had been spread online.
In their plans to help coax Mickey the cockatoo from the Coles, another plan was employed on Tuesday morning. Attempting to lure Mickey out and show him that he was safe, another cockatoo — named Old Lady Doris — was brought to the supermarket to reassure the trapped bird.
Though it looked like it might work at first, director of the Feather Friends bird rescue team Ravi Wasan informed the public that Mickey was spooked by all the commotion.
“We got so so close, and then they opened the emergency doors and it spooked him,” Wasan said, per Guardian.
“The exits where the cockatoo would go out are also the exits for patrons, so he just has to realise that the patrons … aren’t terrifying, which is obviously challenging when he sees everyone as a potential threat.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the office for Penny Sharpe announced that Mickey had been captured and would be returned to the wild.
“I’m delighted to let you know that Mickey the cockatoo has been safely captured by wildlife rescuers after spending way too long in Macarthur Square,” read a press release.
“Mickey is being assessed by experts. We hope Mickey will be flying free by tomorrow.”
Fly high and be safe, sweet prince.
Lead Image: Facebook.
The NSW Environment Minister has stepped in to assure people that a cockatoo trapped in a Coles supermarket for four weeks won’t be killed.
Despite the best efforts of animal rescuers, Mickey has managed to elude catchers since.
He has been “living on brioche” and water put out for him by the night manager who is “very fond of the bird”, according to Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service.
When rumours began circulating that a kill order had been issued, concerned people contacted radio station 2GB.
However, NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe assured people that there was no licence to kill the animal.
“Mickey the cockatoo is not going to be shot,” she told radio host Ben Fordham.
“I have directed the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to find out how we can help Mickey and the team at Coles.
“Mickey will be freed.”
Sharpe said National Parks staff were in contact with wildlife rescue groups and Coles staff.
Concerns have also been raised for Mickey’s mental state after rescuers discovered that Coles cannot switch off its lights, meaning the bird has lived in a state of daylight for a whole month.
WIRES said on Monday that a rescue operation had many complications. For one, the supermarket’s high ceilings made using a containment net impractical.
In addition, the NSW Prohibited Weapons Act bans native animal rescuers from using net guns.
“As the bird has access to plenty of food within Coles and the food court, it is not possible to lure it into a cage using food,” a Facebook update said.
“Nor is it safe to use a tranquilliser dart as the bird will fall from a height and potentially hurt itself – it also might not survive the effects of the tranquilliser.”
In a Facebook update, Sydney Wildlife said its recent mission to rescue Mickey was a “nightmare”.
“We had a great strategy and a great team of willing helpers. We were exhausting the bird so that when the lights were turned off/down, it would make a flight error and come to ground,” it said.
“The bird was utterly exhausted (as were we) and then the clowns at Coles head office refused to turn the lights down/off.
“Who knew in this climate crisis and with a looming social media debacle going down that 1. There is no local control panel for the staff at Coles to control the lights without head office flicking a switch and 2. That they leave ALL the lights on plus the music on 24/7.
“The poor bird hasn’t had any dark for over four weeks and has been living on brioche and illegally placed water by the night manager, who is very fond of the bird.
“Two traps left but with so much food in the store, who knows if that will work?
“Hopefully we exhausted him so much he will come down to a trap for water.”
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Source: Facebook/Councillor Josh Cotter
