5/28/2023 0 Comments Alex & Me by Irene M. PepperbergHe sometimes became bored by the repetition of his tests, and played jokes on her. He was jealous when she paid attention to other parrots, or even people. They shared a deep bond far beyond science. They were emotionally connected to one another. Yet there was a side to their relationship that never made the papers. Together, Alex and Irene uncovered a startling reality: We live in a world populated by thinking, conscious creatures.The fame that resulted was extraordinary. He understood concepts like bigger, smaller, more, fewer, and none. Yet, over the years, Alex proved many things. Alex's brain was the size of a shelled walnut, and when Irene and Alex first met, birds were not believed to possess any potential for language, consciousness, or anything remotely comparable to human intelligence. Over the thirty years they had worked together, Alex and Irene had become famous - two pioneers who opened an unprecedented window into the hidden yet vast world of animal minds. I love you."What would normally be a quiet, very private event was, in Alex's case, headline news. His last words to his owner, Irene Pepperberg, were "You be good. On September 6, 2007, an African Grey parrot named Alex died prematurely at age thirty-one.
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