A much-loved parakeet has been found in Dorset, England after going missing from its London home more than 100 miles away.
After having never left home before, the large green 7-year-old Alexandrine parakeet named Rambi took off on a Sunday when his cage was left open during a family barbecue.
They launched an extensive search for him in their neighborhood, leading to half of Islington on the lookout for the parakeet.
“Because he’s never really flown before—other than around the house—we thought he’d be nearby,” said owner Yianoulla Evangelou. “We all went to bed that night devastated.
“We searched every street, knocked on every neighbor’s door, put posters up, contacted every vet and pet shop, everything you can think of,” the 50-year-old explained.
They had no luck until weeks later when they received a call from animal charity Wildlife in Need on the south coast of England, near Bournemouth, saying they’d found a parakeet that looked similar to theirs.
The charity was quite doubtful that it was the right bird—even after the number on Rambi’s ankle tag was matched—because they’d never heard anything like it happening before. They were so incredulous that Evangelou had to keep sending photos and videos of Rambi, in order to convince them it was hers.
“It’s a miracle,” Evangelou told SWNS news agency. “We’re so happy now that Rambi’s back. It’s just so amazing.
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“But we’re baffled as to how he got to Bournemouth and his journey. We just can’t wrap our brains around it. He’s a domestic bird.”
It’s believed that the bird, which is native to Southeast Asia, may have hitched a ride in, or on, someone’s vehicle to get from the capital to the sunny south coast.
Ms. Evangelou explained that during a family backyard barbecue they brought out their birds to join them, and while giving Rambi some food, she must have inadvertently left his door ajar—and, possibly scared by loud construction going on next door, he fled his cage.
“It was hot so we thought he would be bound to come down into someone’s garden.”
The family later learned that the lost bird was brought into a charity, Wildlife in Need, in Dorset, after landing on a random woman’s shoulder in a Sainsbury’s car park.
“We don’t understand how he got to where he did. He travelled over a hundred miles in the space of six days. That’s unheard of.”
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“The only way we will find out exactly what happened is if he tells us at some point—because he does talk,” she joked.
“The woman who took him in said she would’ve loved to have kept Rambi, but she knew he had an owner.”
“We drove for more than two-and-a-half hours the day after we got the call to pick him up,” Ms Evangelou continued.
“It was the best feeling in the world. We thought he was gone forever.
“The community were amazing. There were people out in parks at night, walking their dogs and looking for Rambi.
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Ms. Evangelou says her sister, Sheniz, is now even thinking of writing a children’s book about his adventure, called #BringRambiHome.
“He’s such a loving bird, and he loves to dance,” said Sheniz.
“We were worried that a cat or a bird of prey would get to him, because he’s obviously not very streetwise.”
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