African Grey parrots at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park
The African Grey parrots sounded like an ‘old working men’s club’ after learning to swear at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park

A group of foul-mouthed parrots had to be removed from their zoo enclosure after they started swearing at visitors.

The newly adopted parrots were quarantined in the same room after arriving at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park last month.

But it appears they used their time in isolation to teach other swear words and emerged sounding like an ‘old working men’s club’.

The park’s chief executive said staff couldn’t help but laugh when they heard them swearing, but this only encouraged the five African grey parrots.

The parrot enclosure at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park (Picture: Lincolnshire Wildlife Park)
Caption: The parrot enclosure at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park (Picture: Lincolnshire Wildlife Park) Provider: Lincolnshire Wildlife Park

Steve Nichols said they were temporarily removed from public view and put in ‘time out’ to think about their behaviour.

‘For the last 25 years, we have always taken in parrots that have sometimes had a bit of blue language and we have really got used to that,’ he said.

‘Every now and then you’ll get one that swears and it’s always funny. We always find it very comical when they do swear at you.

‘But, just by coincidence, we took in five in the same week and because they were all quarantined together it meant that one room was just full of swearing birds.

‘The more they swear the more you usually laugh, which then triggers them to swear again.

‘But when you get four or five together that have learnt the swearing and naturally learnt the laughing, when one swears, one laughs, and before you know it just got to be like an old working men’s club.’

Mr Nichols said African greys are very good at learning vocalisations from noises, and were swearing at visitors within 20 minutes of being put on display.

He said: ‘We found it highly amusing and the customers were fine – there was no problem at all.

‘But we were worried because we had children coming at the weekend.’

The parrots will be separated when they are released so if they do swear it’s not as bad them ‘blasting it out at once’.

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