Mystery as 'drunk' parrots litter Australian town

[demoleft]

AFP - Hundreds of seemingly drunk parrots are falling out of trees and the sky in a northern Australian town, mystifying veterinary surgeons who are struggling to care for them.

The brightly coloured lorikeets are showing classic signs of drunkenness by losing all coordination and passing out, and then cowering in cages as they recover from their "hangovers".

"They definitely seem like they're drunk," said Lisa Hansen, a veterinary surgeon at the Ark Animal Hospital in Palmerston, near Darwin.
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Hansen said nobody was sure what was causing the symptoms, although it may be a plant they are eating. Other theories include an outbreak of a mystery virus.

afp, http://www.france24.com/en/20100602-mystery-drunk-parrots-litter-australian-town

[Crystal Clarity]

1. That was my first thought

a virus... and the article does theorize that as a possibility.

But then again, perhaps whatever they're eating has fermented somehow. I remember reading sometime way back about horses(?) acting drunk after eating apples that had fermented off of the ground. :shrug:

My dog got drunk once. I came home from work to find that he had chewed through 4 cans of beer...(and clearly ingested at least most or all of them) He staggered around a bit, acted dumber then usual, then passed out.

[cwydro]

2. "Dumber than usual"

Lol!

That would be going some for my dog...god love her.

[Crystal Clarity]

4. Yeah, I love mine too

Even though he's a stinky 120llb goofball. He's getting a good bath this weekend with the garden hose-BTW :-)

[csziggy]

3. Is the big dought still on down there?

If so, maybe there is some borderline toxic plant they are eating out of desperation. Some toxic plants that livestock eat are not normally consumed by the animals if there is adequate grazing. But if the pasture is overgrazed, the livestock start eating anything and will eat the toxic plants, sometimes enough to kill them.

On the other hand, downstate if it is a warm winter, the pyracantha berries will ferment and robins will get drunk as can be eating them. The stupid birds will stagger around on the ground and pet owners have to keep their pets fastened up inside or deal with sad little robin carcasses all over the place.

[sarge43]

5. Lorikeets and lories don't eat plants.

They feed on nectar or very ripe soft fruits, especially berries. Sounds like they may be sick from naturally fermented fruit.

[MiddleFingerMom]

6. Something or somebody is seemingly drunk...

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...in Australia.
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Good thing someone alerted the media.
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[sarge43]

7. Yeah. Wait until the cockatoos hear about this.

PAR-TEE! :party::bounce:

[hunter]

8. I first read this as "Drunk PATRIOTS..."

Heck of a party if they were littering an Australian town.