Cookie, an 83-year-old C0ckatoo, has died at Chicago zoo (Picture: Brookfield Zoo / Facebook)
The world’s oldest living parrot, a C0ckatoo named Cookie, has died aged 83.
The pink and white Major Mitchell’s C0ckatoo was put to sleep over the weekend after his health sharply declined.
The bird held a number of records, as well as the ‘Oldest Parrot Living’, he was the only animal in the Chicago Brookfield Zoo’s collection that dated back to its opening in 1934.
Michael Adkesson, vice president of clinical medicine for Chicago Zoological Society, told the Chicago Tribune: ‘On Saturday morning, Cookie suffered a very abrupt decline in his health, prompting the veterinary and animal care staff to make the extremely difficult decision that it was time to peacefully euthanise him.’
The life expectancy for Major Mitchell’s C0ckatoos is 40 to 100 years, according to BirdChannel.com, but the zoo said Cookie lived well beyond what is expected for his species.
He arrived in Chicago, aged 1, after travelling over from Taronga Zoo in Australia.
A tribute on Brookfield’s Facebook page said he will be ‘sorely missed by staff and visitors alike.’
