Apollo (parrot)

Apollo G. Bird (hatched April 2020) is an African grey parrot and the subject of the YouTube channel "Apollo and Frens" run by couple Tori Lacey and Dalton Mason. His intelligence was equated to that of a "human toddler" and he can answer numerous complex questions in English.

Early life

In December 2020, Tori Lacey and Dalton Mason purchased Apollo from Animal House Pet Center in Saint Petersburg, Florida, for $1,700. He had been surrendered there by a previous owner who had clipped his wings, which have since been allowed to regrow.

They adopted him with the intent to train him based on Irene Pepperberg's model/rival technique, and document the process on their YouTube channel "Apollo and Frens". They wrote, "Through showcasing the abilities and emotional intelligence of Apollo, we plan to pursue further legal rights for all parrots, much like those of dogs and cats." They also own two white-bellied caiques named Soleil and Ophelia, who can perform numerous complex vocalizations and tricks.

Training

Lacey and Mason train Apollo based on Irene Pepperberg's model/rival technique she developed to train her own African grey, Alex.

In the technique, the student parrot observes trainers' interaction. One of the trainers models the desired student behavior, and is seen by the student as a rival for the other trainer's attention. The trainer and rival exchange roles so the student can see that the process is interactive. When a student (human or parrot) answers a question about an object correctly, they receive that object as a reward instead of a food reward, which is often used in other training techniques. Irene Pepperberg said the reward system is crucial, because it is the only way that students can make the direct connection between the object and the label that they have used. Food rewards are also sparingly used. Trainers sometimes make intentional mistakes so the students can see the consequences of an incorrect identification. Upon making a mistake, the trainer is scolded and the object is removed. This technique helped Pepperberg succeed with Alex where other scientists had failed in facilitating two-way communication with parrots. Her research environment often obstructed Alex's learning, such as the contradictory need for repetitive evaluation (to obtain statistically significant results) and Alex's need for novelty (to keep him engaged).

Lacey and Mason have partnered with some researchers at Eckerd College, but they are more interested in Apollo's personal development than publishing his results in scientific journals. Likewise, they have avoided some of Pepperberg's training issues by raising him in their own home, "like a human child" and by choosing training directions based on Apollo's interests. In an interview, Lacey said "pollolets us know what he wants to learn. What he's interested in and we just progress in a path that he laid out for us."

Accomplishments

Tori and Dalton describe Apollo's general intelligence as that of "a human toddler". He can communicate in complete or nearly complete English sentences and knows the name of all the basic colors, a few materials, and many nouns. Apollo can answer questions such as "what's this?", "what color?", "what made of?", "what am I doing?", can communicate outside of a question and answer structure, and recognizes numerous unique objects such as plastic figures of Wario and Shrek.

Apollo has asked several questions and understood the answers he receives. This makes him the second recorded non-human animal to have ever asked a question, after Alex the African grey parrot. Apes who have been trained to use sign language have not ever asked a single question.

On December 18, 2023, Apollo broke the Guinness World Record for most items identified by a parrot in three minutes; successfully identifying 12 items. The record was officially inducted into the book in August 2024.

See also

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://apolloandfrens.com

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