For over two hours on Friday morning, Mohammad Basith roamed around near HMT at Kalamassery in search of his favourite pet, an African Grey Parrot named Rocky.
In fact, for the last two days, Mr. Basith, a pet shop owner, has been doing little else than chasing his pet, which flew out of the cage on Wednesday, every time someone alerted that it was spotted somewhere.
Though bought at a princely sum of ₹28,000 seven years ago, for Mr. Basith, the sentimental value attached to his favourite pet dwarfed that price tag.
That Rocky and his pair had two baby birds just days before he had gone missing made it even more saddening. “I had opened the cage to clean it, and somehow he panicked and flew away and then probably lost direction. It could happen sometimes even with the most friendly and tamed pets,” said Mr. Basith whose love for pets run in his family dating back to generations.
A member of the Aviculture Association of Kerala and Avian Club of Kerala, he had shared the picture of the bird on the social media platforms of both the associations with hundreds of members. Since then, he has been receiving numerous alerts of having spotted the bird. But he missed it every time, though he rushed to the spots.
“The area where my house is located at Chakkaraparambu has been a containment zone for the last one week, and it is not always easy to get out owing to restrictions. Also, it is possible that people may be mistaking some other bird for my pet,” said Mr. Basith.
Though he has numerous other pets, Rocky has carved out a special place by his uncanny ability to talk back and mimic everything from mobile ringtones to sounds from the kitchen near which the aviary was placed.
His spirits were lifted when a fellow bird enthusiast rang him up on Friday and assured of his pet’s return by sharing the story of how his own pet bird had similarly gone missing 10 years ago but safely returned a few days later.
African Grey Parrot is considered a prized possession with its current market value upwards of ₹50,000, and it has a very long life expectancy.