Safari Niagara hopes new friends will help Macaw with depression
It has been a difficult few years for Merlin, a rainbow macaw who called the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic home for almost two decades. But there is hope a change of scenery and new friendships will bring a little light back into Merlin’s spirit.
And help him discover delight in life.
Merlin arrived at the Halifax, N.S., museum in 2006 and quickly became its mascot — beloved and spoiled. But he became depressed during the COVID pandemic, as isolation and a lack of visitors took its toll.
Merlin started to show signs of anxiety and stress, biting his feathers. The behaviour continued even after the museum had fully resumed operations.
Unable to provide the companionship he needed to thrive, the museum began seeking out a new home that could offer Merlin specialized care, as well as a supportive, social environment.
They found a potential match in the Safari Niagara facility, whose location is home to a flock of macaws.
Having successfully re-homed about 10 macaws over the past 15 years “we decided Safari Niagara would be a good fit,” said Lana Borg, animal care manager at the Fort Erie nature park, which is home to more than 1,000 native and exotic mammals, reptiles and birds.
When new standards in animal welfare recommended macaws be housed in groups — about three years ago— Safari Niagara began acclimating most of its single macaws into group environments with “great success.”
“We’ve had birds come in, even from other zoos, that were stumped, (they) can’t, for some reason, acclimate them even to one of their birds and we’ve acclimated them to six birds,” said Borg.
The acclimation process began with one bird at a time, through wire, until there was compatibility and comfort. Then the macaws were put together.
Borg said the change has been beneficial for the birds who are now “actually picking partners and going through nesting behaviours,” which is a “huge sign of comfort.”
But for macaws living alone, isolation can lead to feather plucking, which is most often an emotional stressor, said Breah Sovegjarto, educational programs developer.
“Macaws are social rather than solitary animals but often times, people will take on one single parrot as a pet,” she said. “That parrot has built a longterm relationship with that owner and they’ve lived their lives having people as their form of companionship rather than other (parrot) species.”
For years, Merlin had company in the museum with workers and visitors nearby — the words “cracker” and “peek-a-boo” are part of his vocabulary — but the silence of the pandemic was likely difficult. Having constant stimulus suddenly disappear, without understanding why, led to anxiety and depression.
Merlin is on medication to treat his symptoms.
Having been transported by Safari Niagara's registered vet technician and lead keeper of re-homed tropical birds, Nelly Flynn, Merlin is currently in a mandatory 30-day quarantine.
Once that is complete, the next steps are up to Merlin.
“We will put him in an area where the other macaws are. There may be one macaw that takes an interest so we’ll focus on that,” said Borg.
“I can’t just throw him in with seven birds or 10 birds so it’s going to be a process and all depending on what he is willing to accept.”
Having spent much of his life in a museum, staff also are unsure how comfortable Merlin feels outdoors.
“We have a lot of music in the park, we have areas where kids are running, playing, the wildlife, there’s a lot of added stimulus he’s never experienced,” said Borg. “We’re just looking forward to experiencing his journey with him.”