FLORIDA:
Meet Apollo, the African grey parrot with a knack for naming items. This talented bird has gained significant attention on TikTok, where his impressive vocabulary has attracted a following of 2.8 million fans.
Apollo recently set a new Guinness World Record for identifying the most items by a parrot in three minutes, recognizing an astounding 12 items, including a Wario toy, a cork, and a bottle, in footage that left viewers amazed.
The parrot’s owners, Dalton and Victoria Mason, both 25, are content creators who hope Apollo’s achievement on December 18, 2023, will highlight the intelligence of animals. “Our mission is to spread awareness of the natural intelligence found in animals,” the couple stated. “We hope that our title can change the meaning behind the phrase ‘bird brain.'”
The Masons first met Apollo in December 2020 at a local pet shop and immediately felt he was destined to be part of their family. Alongside his TikTok fame, Apollo also boasts 1.37 million followers on YouTube under the account “Apollo and Frens.”
To keep Apollo engaged, the Masons employ training sessions and reward him with his favorite treat, pistachios. They’ve drawn inspiration from animal psychologist Dr. Irene Pepperberg’s model-rival method, which she used to train another African grey parrot named Alex. This method involved two trainers, one giving instructions while the other modeled correct and incorrect responses, acting as Alex’s rival for attention. Dr. Pepperberg’s work demonstrated that parrots could communicate beyond mere mimicry.
Apollo’s owners note his remarkable cognitive abilities: “Once he started to learn his first object labels, colors, and materials, we knew he could achieve many of the incredible things that Alex did and potentially much more. There is really no limit to what we hope Apollo will learn.”
