Meet Tipper the Congo African Grey

Meet Tipper

Tipper was born in captivity in 1998, and eight years later relinquished to the Utah Critter Sanctuary & Ferret & Parrot Rescue Shelter.
Destined for the pet trade, Tipper was raised at the nadir of a booming market for hand-fed Grey babies. What happened between his hatching and his surrender to sanctuary is anybody’s guess. Only Tipper knows for sure. He was probably less than 3 months old when he was sold to humans who bought him, a cage, a toy, bowls and food. Less than 10 years later, Tipper has been rejected and passed from “owner” to “owner,” until he finally became homeless.

When he was surrendered into shelter, the people who gave up Tipper told their story of disappointment: Tipper doesn’t act like a well-socialized Grey: he isn’t friendly, he won’t come out of his cage, he’s not playful, he doesn’t talk all that much, he’s easily frightened, and worst of all, he’s a biter. They described how they struggled to get him to exit his cage until they discovered “toweling.” Using a towel, Tipper would be caught by the head and neck in his cage and his wings pinned to his body. Tightly wrapped and held feet up, the panicked bird twitches and thrashes until he is “set free” back into the cage and allowed to kick off the towel. (It is notable that at the shelter, Tipper has never bitten anyone and is considered to be very gentle.)

Unlike many traumatized birds, Tipper is still in overall good health, beautiful, and in excellent, full feather--an “upright and feathered” parrot. For the full story and more, please click HERE

As you will read in the rest of Tipper's story at The Kerulos Center Website, Tipper has come to the attention of many Avian Experts and lovers. We will be keeping up with Tipper and his story here as we learn any news of him finding a new forever home and over-comes his life of being cage bound and mis-understood.

Stay tuned!