ViralHogA crafty cockatoo quickly managed to make a fool out of humans when it decided to get rid of a set of unaccommodating anti-bird spikes.
I guess we need to come up for a new name for the spikes now because it’s clear they’re not very good at being anti-bird.
The white cockatoo was filmed tearing up the spikes, which had been installed on the ledge of a shopping centre in Katoomba, Australia.
Check it out here:
It looked like the bird was on a mission as it worked methodically to pull the spikes up from the ledge, using its foot to hold them up before moving along to ensure it removed a full section.
It tugged at the spikes for a few seconds and then, in a real ‘thug life’ moment, sent them falling to the ground. You can almost imagine the scene freezing and a pair of black sunglasses flying in to rest on the cockatoo’s beak.
The camera panned along the ground to reveal numerous sections of spikes, suggesting the bird had been hard at work obliterating the unfriendly apparatus, and it wasn’t long before another set came clattering to the ground.
ViralHogThe successful removal really showed those spikes who was boss and left a good section of the ledge free and clear, ensuring there was space for any of the cockatoo’s winged friends who might want to come and join it in mocking us humans for our useless inventions.
The brilliant footage was shared on Facebook by Isaac Sherring-Tito, who perfectly summed up the scene in three words:
Fuck the police.
After being shared on social media the video racked up 2.6 million views and more than 45,000 shares. Thousands of people have praised the bird for its brazen act, with one person complimenting the cockatoo’s ‘kick ass beak work’.
ViralHogAnother impressed viewer commented:
As an Aussie, I feel inordinately proud of this bird’s attitude and hard work.
The cockatoo is reportedly infamous in the area as one person on Twitter claimed the same bird is known to ‘con tourists out of their snacks just down the street.’
Heh. That wall is on Katoomba Street. This is the spot. He cons tourists out of their snacks just down the street. https://t.co/7JD9CKiRcr pic.twitter.com/iBxKDGMGpN
— Stilgherrian (@stilgherrian) July 5, 2019
According to The Guardian, Sean Dooley, the editor of Australian Birdlife magazine, explained cockatoos ‘seem to take great enjoyment’ out of doing that sort of damage, ‘whether it is random vandalism or more strategic damage’.
He continued:
They do seem to take great delight in it. It’s pretty evident that cockatoos in particular are very intelligent birds and within their social structure have to us what looks like playing.
Though the people who installed the spikes on the shopping centre were probably a bit annoyed at having their work vandalised I think it’s fair to say the cockatoo earned its right to perch there.
Amazing.
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Emily Brown first began delivering important news stories aged just 13, when she launched her career with a paper round. She graduated with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University, and went on to become a freelance writer and blogger. Emily contributed to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems before becoming a journalist at UNILAD, where she works on breaking news as well as longer form features.