Bananas is a timneh chick who was taken from its nest by a poacher during a population study in the Bijagós islands in 2014. And thanks to quick actions by the World Parrot Trust and the National Park staff in communicating to community leaders, the chick was anonymously brought back to the team. The field research team worked to help the chick regain its strength and quickly found that its favorite food is... 🍌. Bananas was returned to the nest and monitored with a camera in hopes that the parents would re-adopt their nestling after being gone for about 15 days. They were fortunate to see the the parents return and continue raising their chick. Bananas successfully fledged thanks to the efforts of the teams.
Not very many Timneh parrots are as lucky as Bananas. Timnehs are heavily trafficked for the pet trade :( this endangered parrot is a really popular pet so the demand is high. If you are interested in having a Timneh parrot as a pet I will first tell you- please don’t. Not only are parrots difficult exotic pets to provide proper care to, but it’s possible that you could contribute to the black market, the illegal pet trade, and be part of the cause of this animal becoming further endangered. Please be careful when considering parrots as pets.