Brazilian police on Tuesday took into custody a parrot after it allegedly warned its owners of a potential drug raid. The bird's owners were suspected drug dealers.
Parrot Warned Owners Police Officers Are Coming
The bird reportedly warned the suspects of the coming raid by squawking "Mama, Police!" in local language when it saw police officers outside the house.
One of the officers who were involved in the operation commented that the bird may have been trained for this particular situation.
"As soon as the police got close he started shouting," he said.
Despite the bird's efforts, the operation pushed through, and the police managed to gather evidences against the suspects, a man and a teenage girl. Video of the raid's aftermath showed police cataloguing small bags of crack.
The parrot was seized Monday afternoon but kept its beak shut after it was "arrested."
The parrot had been handed to a local zoo, where zookeepers will train it how to fly before it will be released back into the wild.
The incident is not the first time a parrot is involved in a crime. In 2016, a man in Kuwait narrowly escaped prison after the family's parrot exposed his illicit affair with the housemaid.
Intelligent Bird
Parrots are intelligent birds that are capable of complex cognition. Researchers have demonstrated these animals have sophisticated problem solving abilities. Parrots can count, add and subtract, understand the concept of zero, and communicate their desires. Some can even make and use their own tools.
In a study published in Scientific Reports in July 2018, researchers attribute the birds' remarkable intelligence to the evolution of their brain. Study researcher Claudio Mello, from the Oregon Health & Science University, said the brains of these birds evolved the same way as ours.
"Humans ended up with bigger brains and more brain cells and more cognitive traits," Mello said. "Parrots have bigger brains than other birds and more communication skills, and they have similar conserved elements that set them apart."
