Last week the Education Centre’s
very special galah, Mulga, turned 20. Mulga is my favourite animal at the Zoo. Why
do I adore her? So many reasons!
She is very affectionate and can
be a bit cheeky if she’s ignored for even a millisecond. She also has a bit of
a sad history. She came to the Zoo when she was just a chick, a rescue from
customs after someone had tried to smuggle her. Mulga was hand-raised here and
released back into the wild, but she was found not doing too well, so she
stayed at the Zoo where she could be cared for and also became an ambassador to
educate and inspire students that visit.
To celebrate her birthday I gave
her some treats – her favourite sunflower seeds and an apple core which she
ripped right through.
Mulga is such a friendly bird. She
loves attention and is very sociable with humans. She makes the most adorable
little clicking noises when you are with her, which is a bit like a cat
purring. She’s always eager for attention, cuddles and playing which makes her
such a great animal to work with.
I’ve been training her and she now
flies from perch to perch in the classroom during lessons and also lifts up her
foot in the air on request. She loves the stimulation and seems to really enjoy
the training.
Next we’re looking to work with Bird Trainer
Grey from the QBE Free Flight Bird Show to work on some more behaviours.
- Cate, Education