A rescue centre for exotic animals

The owner got the parrot Pepíček years ago as a beloved companion. They lived together well for many years. But then the man found a mate of his own kind and started a family. The new lady of the house tried to get on with Pepíček as well as she could, but Pepíček was jealous all the same. Still, everybody was fond of him, so they coped with a few minor attacks without any trouble. The trouble started when children were born into the family. And one day there was an accident — the little girl put her hand into the cage and Pepíček bit off a piece of her finger. Thanks to quick first aid and then a successful operation at the hospital, the finger was sewn back on and saved. All the same, the girl was left with a scar and a partly bruised finger. When the second child started walking too, the risk of injury rose again, and with a heavy heart the family gave the parrot up for the children's safety and placed him at Laguna.

Kadu the Ducorps's cockatoo was originally an unwanted gift for a 17-year-old young woman, who did not want a parrot at all and did not want him. So the father took the cockatoo to his restaurant, where Kadu spent long years in the company of people, which suited him quite well. That ended the moment the restaurant closed down. So the cockatoo moved back home, but he was not content there; he missed company. In the end he wound up in a public place again — a café, where he lived for 1.5 years. He flew freely there and enjoyed the company of the customers, children included. Sadly that café closed down too and Kadu moved home again. He did not like that and made it known very loudly. So the owners decided to take the parrot to Laguna, so that he could find friends and be content at last. Kadu was first placed in quarantine in a home setting. He turned out to be a very perceptive, friendly and sociable parrot. He is now trying out life in the shared aviary of the gentler parrots. He flies with the group of amazons and other smaller cockatoos.

They brought us a handsome fellow, a pink-and-white gentleman of elegance. He is Pepíček, a galah. He did not have an easy life either. True, he hatched to parents who looked after him in the nest box, but then it went wrong — they shoved him into a shop and soon sold him to a breeder for an aviary. He lived there for about six years, but apparently he did not distinguish himself much as a breeding male (goodness, whatever you do, don't tell him, we don't want him getting a complex), so the breeder sold him to his last owner. He got on with her very well, and she had an aviary built for him in the garden and in time got him a female. Just when it looked as though life was going to be fine, the female began to waste away and the vet put her to sleep, because she had developed a nasty disease — bornavirus. And Pepíček was left alone again. He plucked himself badly and was sad. Fortunately the disease did not pass to him. And his owner handed him over to Laguna. Except that first he had to spend time in quarantine at the vet's and wait for further test results. Fortunately those came out well again: Pepíček is healthy, only sad. But there is a female at Laguna — plucked, true, but perhaps they will take a liking to each other. I would so wish that for him, for Pepíček to be happy at last; he would deserve it so much. He is such a beautiful, elegant fellow.

He was bought as a hand-reared, tame youngster into a family, where he became friends with a 6-year-old boy who looked after him. Sadly the family idyll did not last long: the boy's parents divorced and Rendy started screaming and plucking as well. So they moved the noisy Rendy to a parrot breeder. He stayed there a good while — until he was 15, when the breeder died. And so Rendy went back to his favourite boy. Except that over those years the boy had grown into a young student and had no time for a parrot. And so Rendy screamed again to force some attention. The young student could not study. And it was settled — Rendy would move to Laguna.

Kvika was taken in at Laguna after the tragic death of her beloved owner. Kvika first appeared at Laguna in December 2015 together with her friend Sophie, a white cockatoo, for a short stay because the owner had to go away. They made friends a little with the cockatoo gang, and then both girls went home again. Less than a year later — in the summer — both cockatoo girls turned up at Laguna again to be looked after while the owner went on holiday with her family. The stay suited them; the parrot girls treated it as a holiday too. But their return home lasted only a few days. Then a great tragedy happened: one evening their beloved owner went to bed early, she was not feeling well. And that was the last time she cuddled them. In the morning she did not wake up. Her health had not been strong and her weak heart could not take the hardships of recent times; it failed in the night. Her distraught husband contacted Laguna at once and the parrots were taken back to the cockatoo group. At first neither of the cockatoo girls understood why they were there so long, why their owner was not coming back for them. Only after several weeks did it dawn on them that she would never come. They took it very badly. Kvika was placed in the back quarters, because she needed constant entertaining and encouragement. She plucked a good deal of the time, screamed and was very unsettled. After a while she was placed in foster care in Chrastava near Liberec, in a large shared aviary with other parrots — and above all she met two male salmon-crested cockatoos there. One of them was badly plucked, the other looked very handsome. Perhaps because she was still working through her depression, she chose the handsome one and plucked him something dreadful. Hopefully it calmed her; she gradually put her grief behind her, and in the end she started playing in the aviary and even tidying up the nest box.

A young, spirited female. Very playful and inquisitive. For her best friend and companion she chose the playful male Eddie. Angela was hand-fed from a completely naked hatchling. At three months old she was sold, while she still needed supplementary feeding. She started plucking. After a time she went back to the breeder, where she was kept alternately with an older pair of galahs and with young white cockatoos. This was not right for her either and she kept plucking. At the age of 3 she came to Laguna, where she had the chance to be with other large cockatoos and above all with males. She took a liking to ropes and swings and had room to fly in the aviary. In summer she enjoys the sun outdoors and natural rain. She forgot her plucking handicap completely and turned into a beautiful feathered lady. In the spring of 2019 she chose her male, Eddie. Together they were given their own aviary and are even starting to look into the nest box.

Chico has a rougher temperament. He could not care less about anything — parrots or keepers alike. He can be cuddly, and just as quickly he will attack when he is having a bad day. He is rather active, needs keeping busy and is very talkative. Chico lived for three years in a care home for the elderly, Hortenzie. Lately it turned out that living in that facility was not right for him. He started having health problems too. He was moved to the cockatoo group at Laguna. Here he socialised quickly and gets along with the other cockatoos, though now and then he chases them about. He is quite dominant. He will let himself be stroked, but sometimes he can turn aggressive. He can imitate all sorts of sounds and likes shouting at visitors: “Hello, do you want a coffee, give me some water, Chico — the director” (just so everyone knows who is boss here!).

Eddie's owner had to move permanently to the USA — New York — for work. It was not possible to take the parrot to her new home; he would have been shut in a small flat alone all day. So she decided to place him at Laguna. Eddie is a very good-natured and quick-learning parrot. He seeks out no quarrels, socialised quickly with the other cockatoos and gets on well with them. His favourite became the young female Angela, with whom he earned a shared aviary of their own, with a nest box they are slowly starting to peek into.

Žolík came to Laguna at the age of nine, because he was aggressive towards his owner's partner. When she became pregnant, he turned on the newborn little person as well. He has got reasonably used to the flock of other cockatoos, but he rather keeps away from contact with them. From time to time his original owner comes to see him and helps with installing perches and with other work. Žolík responds to him nicely; you can see that he remembers him. Žolík likes contact with people, but what he likes best of all is the company of a singing keeper. Then you can see he is content.

Barborek is a cheerful, affectionate and dominant male. His owner originally believed she had got a female, which is why Barborek kept a girl's name. He settled into the cockatoo flock quickly. He gives no trouble and gets on well with the other parrots and with some of the keepers. Barborek spent lovely years with his loving owner as a pet. After eight years he could not stay in his original home for family reasons and was placed at Laguna. His owner visits him regularly and always gives him her full attention. That resolved a difficult situation to the satisfaction of both sides. Barborek holds no grudge against her and still loves a cuddle with her.

Cookie went through about 5 homes in his life before he reached Laguna. He is a very sweet parrot, but highly sensitive, and the constant moving did him no good: he started plucking his feathers and learned to screech and shriek very loudly, which led to people getting rid of him. The last family he came to tried to give him everything he needed, but in time they decided he would be better off among other parrots and turned to Laguna. Cookie settled in with us quickly and gets on wonderfully with the other parrots he shares the aviary with at the Botanical Garden.

Junior was the first egg of father Ferda and mother Sára. The parents did not yet know how to look after it — instead of sitting on the egg, father Ferda sat next to it and now and then played football with it. So the egg was moved to an incubator and replaced with a dummy, to give father something to kick about. Junior grew up together with his sisters, Shakira and later Safira. Once they had gained a little more strength and flying experience, they went to train in the tennis hall. Later they joined the cockatoo flock at the Botanical Garden, where they met their father Ferda for the first time. Sadly they never got to know their mother Sára; she died after a serious illness while they were still in the incubator. Father Ferda loves them immensely and either looks after them carefully or gets up to mischief with them.

Josefína is talkative, affectionate and cheerful. She likes human company and public events, where she can show off. She originally lived with her owner in America, and after some time she moved to Bohemia together with her owner. Her owner pampered her greatly and thought of her as an emancipated daughter. She fed her mainly on human food and poured her water into a mug only when Josefína asked for it, so that the water would not become contaminated. She had never known fruit or vegetables, and had never seen sunlight either. Probably from a lack of the nutrients she needed, she plucked the feathers from her belly and her back, and even damaged her skin into nasty sores. In 2011 she came to Laguna, where we had her fully examined and adjusted her diet according to the results. She began learning to eat fruit and vegetables. These new discoveries gave Josefína enormous joy. On tasting a banana, her big eyes simply rolled with an expression of: I don't know this, but it tasteeeees soooo goooood. She picked it up mostly from the other cockatoos, but she never managed to join the group. Her condition gradually improved and she partly regrew her feathers, though some follicles were already destroyed. She comes with us to public events, has her photo taken with models, and adores her keeper Ivanka, who has her in her care.

Kašpárka and her owner found themselves, through great misfortune, in a very sad situation when the man they both loved left them after a serious illness. The two of them grieved so deeply that the world stopped being interesting to them. Kašpárka stared sadly at a colourful wall that, after a while, seemed to her only grey and colourless. At every click of the door she lit up and waited for her beloved to have come home, and it was only the unhappy owner, who tried to cheer Kašpárka up even though her own heart was bleeding. Her favourite pistachios stopped tasting good to her and she took no interest in anything new. Her toys just lay there without stirring. Life had stopped making sense to her. She began plucking her belly and the spark in her eye was going out. What to do? The owner grew unhappier and unhappier, because she could not even lift Kašpárka's mood. So she decided to place the female at Laguna, so as not to lose her as well. First she went into Laguna's home setting, where she made friends with the cockatoo Coco, who did tease her a little, but Kašpárka's appetite for life came back. Her favourite pistachios tasted even better than before, and the toys started to interest her again. Her activity shot right up. She was given a second chance at a new and completely different life — a bird's life, with plenty of other cheerful friends. For now she is still finding her feet in a group full of cockatoos, Coco her favourite among them, but we shall see which of the handsome lads she ends up liking best — and she has plenty of time for that.

Káťa came to Laguna at the age of two, and by then she had already been through several owners. We do not even know the whole history. Her last owner had her for half a year; before that she spent only a month with that woman's daughter, who had taken her from a friend, and he too had been given her by someone. The woman was at work all day, so Káťa spent most of her time alone. That is when she started plucking. She quickly formed a friendly bond with the woman and would lay eggs for her. She was fed a seed mix, mainly sunflower. Of fruit, she ate citrus most of all. Since the woman had no time for her, and Káťa screamed a good deal at home and was plucking heavily, she decided to place her at Laguna.

He came to us at the age of 20. A loving man had originally got him as his companion for life. They understood each other splendidly. But a problem arose every time a woman courting the man came into the house. Koro bravely set the hierarchy straight and, by the proper laws of cockatoos, literally drove the new partner out. The last human partner held out for a very long time. She tried every way she could to make some sort of peace with Koro. But Koro stood on principle: the partner must be eliminated. When, after one such exchange, the woman ended up in surgery with her face torn open, the man's nerves gave out and he built a large, safe little room for the cockatoo in the basement. He did not want to lose this partner after all — they were already expecting their human egg. So that Koro would not feel too hard done by, the man built a spacious aviary in the garden. But Koro would not accept this bargain and bellowed with all his might, as a proper cockatoo should. Complaints started arriving from the neighbours, and Koro was in trouble again. In despair, the man drove Koro to Laguna. He was first placed in the aviary at the Botanical Garden, among the cycads. Koro was immensely well behaved there and did not scream at all. And so after half a year Koro went back to his man, because it seemed the bellowing was behind him. It was not. Koro took a flight around the garden aviary, had a look around (which took about 3 minutes), gripped the bars tight, took a deep breath and launched into a serenade the likes of which the neighbours had never heard. It lasted several hours. That very same evening Koro returned to Laguna. After some time the chance came up to lend Koro to a breeder who had a female living alone. It was love at first sight. When Koro was let into the female's aviary a spark flew, and from then on they lived together. They climbed into the nest box, built themselves a little nest, had dinner together, and it all looked as though Koro might even become a father. Sadly, after a while the female died and Koro was alone again. He returned to Laguna, where within a week he took a liking to the loud female Bára, who made it clear to him that she is the dominant one. That is going to be quite a show!

Louis was bought by his owner as a feathered chick that he was still hand-feeding. Together they formed a strong bond. When the man married and started a family, Louis stopped being the centre of attention. Then a dog joined the family as well and the parrot began plucking. He attacked the wife and the children. He plucked his wings and tail bare, so he could not even fly. You could see he was suffering, and so was the man, who because of his work no longer had time for him. So they decided to take Louis to Laguna, where in time he could join the cockatoo group and live a contented life in a flock of other friends.

Rokýn is very affectionate and friendly, but also sometimes surprisingly sly and aggressive. Rokýn lived with a loving man who had got him as a chick. He raised him and cuddled him. They got through a rough adolescence too, but then something turned at home and the darling Rokýn began screaming unstoppably and then attacking his owner as well. Nothing could stop him. It tore the man's heart to move Rokýn to Laguna, but there was no other way. After arriving at Laguna the naughty screamer seemed transformed. He was a sweet little male again, who would let anyone cuddle him. It was not long before he started dive-bombing the keepers and screaming again. But he did not keep it up for long and understood that his screaming interests nobody and that attacking simply is not on. Instead of attacks and screaming he started playing among the parrots, and his mental state turned entirely for the better. His one great problem is with cleaning equipment, which simply makes the crest on his head go up. For all the care he gets, Rokýn has one serious handicap. He once suffered inflammation of the stomach and intestines. His digestion stopped and a great fight for survival began. A lot of medication did destroy the bacteria, but the stomach walls were damaged and proper digestion never returned. Rokýn cannot digest any grain, so he is on a special diet of soaked pellets and plenty of soft vegetables and fruit. He bravely coped with an illness we fought for several months, but his faith in us kept him going and gave us the chance to win.

Safira is the daughter of her father Ferda and her mother Sára. She is the youngest of the triplets

Shakira is the first-hatched daughter of her father Ferda. She is the middle one of the triplets

Sophie came to Laguna after the sudden death of her beloved owner. It took a long time before she put her grief behind her. Sophie first appeared at Laguna in December 2015 together with her friend Kvika, a salmon-crested cockatoo, for a short stay because the owner had to go away. They made friends a little with the cockatoo gang, and then both girls went home again. Less than a year later — in the summer — both cockatoo girls turned up at Laguna again to be looked after while the owner went on holiday with her family. The stay suited them; the parrot girls treated it as a holiday too. But their return home lasted only a few days. Then a great tragedy happened: one evening their beloved owner went to bed early, she was not feeling well. And that was the last time she cuddled them. In the morning she did not wake up. Her health had not been strong and her weak heart could not take the hardships of recent times; it failed in the night. Her distraught husband contacted Laguna at once and the parrots were taken back to the cockatoo group. At first neither of the cockatoo girls understood why they were there so long, why their owner was not coming back for them. Only after several weeks did it dawn on them that she would never come. They took it very badly. Sophie plucked herself and her mental state was poor. She was placed with Laguna's cockatoo mum Ivanka, who devoted whole days to her. Only after a year of being pampered did Sophie begin to wake from her heavy grief and become able to play with the other cockatoos again. She was moved into the group, where she gradually found her place, and started playing and larking about once more. Her feathers grew back and today she is a beautiful, self-assured young lady.

Chaco was reared by his parents Tereza and Richard. Chaco came into the world during dramatic days, when a vast fire was raging in South America and destroyed large parts of the rainforest. Laguna put together a project to help the burning part of the southern Pantanal in the Chaco. That is where the little parrot got his name, Chaco. In that period there was not so much time left for Chaco, but even so he grew into a wonderful little darling. Chaco has joined the free-flight training, though for now we can only fly freely in the tennis hall. He is very able and a greatly gifted flyer. One day he will fly under the open sky too.

Kasandra, a two-year-old princess, was placed with us by a breeder because she flew badly and was not suitable for breeding. She had developed necrosis of the tissue at the tips of her wings and parts of the wings had to be amputated. Laboratory results revealed the bacterium Pseudomonas graminis, which had damaged the tissue and parts of the bones. The antibiotics put in place were chosen correctly; the laboratory confirmed the bacterium was sensitive to the antibiotics given. This bacterium is very rare; it occurs in France, where it is used in cleaning apples. How Kasandra came by it we shall probably never find out. After three weeks of treatment we hoped everything would be fine from then on. Sadly the left wing started going inflamed again and a second operation was needed, with part of the joint removed. Samples were taken once more and sent to the laboratory. And our girl has to have injections from the doctor again. On a follow-up X-ray we also found signs of an old fracture of the left wing. Who knows what happened to the poor thing early in life. For now she is holding up well and is not damaging the wound; hopefully it will all heal properly and Kasandra will finally get her wish and be able to join the other macaws. For now she only calls out to them from the first floor and gazes longingly out of the window, waiting for the day she can join her macaw mates.

A blue-and-yellow macaw, a two-year-old girl who has nothing wrong with her at all. But her owner is in a bad way. She took Zorinka in while she was still a small chick. She looked after her nicely for almost two years. They spent a lot of time outdoors in the garden. But the owner's health let her down and she was often in hospital. Kind neighbours looked after Zorinka, coming in to feed her and clean up. But she was alone in the house a great deal. The owner's health got worse and she had to go back into hospital, and it does not look good at all. And so she decided it was better to place her beloved macaw at Laguna. Zorinka has found a friend here in Kasandra, and the two have plenty to talk about, because Kasandra has a very dramatic story behind her. At least we send the owner videos and keep her informed about how her macaw is doing. If the owner's health does not improve enough for her to take her back, she will at least come and visit. Some owners can look after their parrots and do not, and here is a woman who would like to and cannot. Life sometimes takes a turn with us before we can so much as blink.

The owner bought the macaws Hilda and Škubánek as a breeding pair. The male showed great nervousness from the start, was discontented and soon began plucking. From the age of three they reared young, but the whole time they were plucking invasively.

Because of aggressive attacks on the lady of the house and on a newborn member of the family, he had to be taken in at Laguna, where he joined a group with other parrots.

The grey parrot Terezka comes from Bošovice Zoo, where she was reared as a chick. A married couple bought her and looked after Terezka exemplarily. As the years went on the owners grew old and the woman died. The man was left alone and could no longer manage caring for the parrot. Their son could not look after Terezka, so he preferred to place her at Laguna. Lately she has started plucking a little, probably partly because of her owner's passing. Her diet was also too fatty. You can see it in her colouring too — now and then she has pink feathers, a sign that her food ration needs adjusting to a lighter diet. She is very lively, watches the flock of grey parrots and will soon be joining them. Lately her feathers have grown back beautifully and she has turned into a lovely grey parrot young lady.

The grey parrot Kačenka hatched in September 2003 at a private zoo in Istanbul. From there she was bought at the age of two by her owner, who at the time was in Turkey on official duty as an ambassador, together with his wife. Kačenka lived with them in a flat at the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in Istanbul. After two years the man was recalled to the Czech Republic. So he arranged all the necessary permits and he and Kačenka moved to the Czech Republic together. Here they lived contentedly in a family house, where Kačenka had her own large aviary and her own room. She was out for most of the day and the owners gave her their attention. Time passed, the owners were getting on in years and they moved to the countryside into a smaller home. Here Kačenka no longer had that much freedom, the owners' strength was fading, and so they decided to move Kačenka to Laguna, so that she would have the chance to find friends of her own and perhaps a partner too. She came to Laguna in the summer of 2021, at the age of 18. At first she rather eyed up the new people and friends. Laguna's flock of grey parrots is made up of Congo greys, and Kačenka is a Timneh. So she was placed on trial with one of our breeders, who also has a Timneh — an older boy called Pepa. Here Kačenka is no longer timid; quite the opposite — she keeps Pepa nicely in line. So let us hope the two of them get along.

A kind woman found the wretched Frencis, an amazon only a year old, in the cellars of a pet shop. She managed to buy her out, and within a year the sad heap of feathers turned into a pretty amazon girl. The woman put her in a large aviary with white cockatoos, where Frencis could fly and build up her strength. After a while the comedian cockatoos took it into their heads to tear the feathers out of the amazon's wings and tail. And Frencis was plucked and broken again. The woman arranged a move to Laguna, where Frencis could recover and find friends who were her equals. Frencis is a wonderful girl, very sociable. She likes going to Laguna's public events and enthusiastically tells all her admirers about the things she has been through. She cannot be understood, but nobody minds. And Frencis's wing and tail feathers are slowly growing back, and her self-confidence is growing back along with them. She is a magnificent, sociable lady. For now she sticks with people more than with parrots, but once her flight feathers grow back she will show them all.

Edu is a genetically very valuable offspring of parents from the wild, and the offspring of one of the oldest amazons at Laguna — Eduard — and he was reared by his parents.

One of the oldest amazons in the flock. He comes from the wild — he was seized at an airport as illegal trade. He was placed in the socialisation group of amazons at Laguna. Eduard was seized at the airport together with others in 1993 and placed at Prague Zoo. His age is not known. In 2007 Laguna obtained him in exchange for other birds. Laguna tried to make up for the loss of the rainforest by housing him in a large aviary in the tropical greenhouse at the Botanical Garden of Charles University. Eduard also reared offspring in captivity. One of the chicks (named Edu) flies with him in the group. For several years he was the “boss” of the amazon group. Today he is getting old and losing strength, but he is not quarrelsome. He has got used to the keepers too and will take fruit from the hand.

Harýček's story begins much like a great many other situations in ordinary families. Dad, mum, a little son… The boy grows up, goes to school, gains a bit of sense, and wants a friend terribly, terribly badly — a dog. After much family debate, Christmas comes and there is a small furry bundle under the tree — behold, a Yorkshire terrier puppy! There is no limit to the excitement. The boy writes his homework exemplarily, tidies up after himself, takes out the bin and, as agreed, walks the dog in the afternoons. Then comes the era of computer games and less time, and the dog attaches itself to mum, because she is the one who always makes it out for a walk and always fills the food bowl. The son grows, grows wiser, and takes an interest in parrots. The dog still only cuddles with mum. Pleas, promises, laments about how hard he will study, how he will not spend time at the computer, really. And that tiny amazon at the PET centrum shop is so lonely and sad. And then that birthday — and behold — the amazon is home. The son's joy knows no bounds; he even washes the dishes and takes out the bin unasked. And in the end the whole family grows fond of the amazon. And Harýček lives in the son's room, repeats various words and is a great friend. The boy studies as promised, as best he can. So a fine end to the story? Except that something is changing. The little boy is changing. Adolescence begins, hard, loud music, and Harýček screams endlessly. Why??? Nobody understands what changed about the amazon. Nothing changed about Harýček. But the boy is slowly growing up, the amazon cannot bear hard rock music and bellows, and bellows and bellows. All day long. And so he travels to mum in the kitchen. Except Harýček goes on bellowing. Patient mum at least thinks up a programme for him — he goes with them to the cottage. Harýček loves that immensely. Not only does he like it enormously at the cottage, because there he has a little aviary in the garden under an apple tree, but there is also tremendous fun along the way. Mum drives and dad drives mum: “Right, into the right lane, ri— you idiot.” I have no idea what went on along the way, but Harýček has kept these lines to this day, along with other chatter and imitating the barking of his dog friend. And as time went on, the situation somehow got even worse. The son really did study well, got into a school and left for a boarding school in another town. And so Harýček was left alone, because he had been very fixated on the boy. He no longer even enjoyed the trips to the cottage, he was weary, he attacked dad and mum and above all — he screeched, screamed and shrieked, all day long. And on top of that he plucked himself, as if that were not enough. And at that point dad could take no more and decided: the amazon is leaving the house. But what to do with him? And so Harýček was taken in at Laguna. Here, after a short time, he was given the female Kirry, who has a rare condition — she is allergic to the dust from other birds' feathers. It shows that parrots suffer from illnesses very similar to ours. It took a long time before he got used to Kirry and understood that she is his mate, not a Yorkshire terrier. Only after two years of living with Kirry did Harýček stop “barking” like a dog and turn his attention to his amazon mate. Today Harýček still plucks a little, but he looks after his mate carefully. Because of her diagnosis, Kirry has to be in a large, airy aviary, as isolated as possible from any allergens. From spring to autumn they are both placed in the outdoor aviary and enjoy the clean air of the Sázava valley. In the summer of 2019 they started behaving mysteriously and we had no idea what was going on in their aviary. Every day we brought them fresh food and clean water, and both amazons always waited by the bowls to see what they would get. After a while only Harýček was waiting at the bowl, and Kirry was tucked away in the nest box. We discreetly took a look to see whether any eggs might be visible. And behold, there were two beautiful grey spheres. Tears sprang to our eyes with joy and we quietly withdrew to rejoice elsewhere, so as not to disturb them. Together, without any human hand, they raised a girl and a boy.

Ivan came with the older female Marta as her second partner. Marta is one of the oldest amazons we have here. The owner of both amazons died and his wife could no longer look after the parrots, so she had them all brought to Laguna.

Jack was got by parents for their daughter when she was a child. Jack loved her and they were great mates. But the daughter grew up, had her own interests, and eventually grew up and moved away from her parents. Jack stayed with the father, whom he did not much like. He missed his friend, whom he loved. The father did everything he could to make Jack happy. He took him to work, where Jack had an aviary. He worked at a theatre, and from there Jack learned to whistle various melodies. As time went on, Jack suffered more and more and was not happy. So his sad owner handed him over to Laguna. We tried to get him into the amazon group, where Jack came into conflict with Harýček, of the same species. It ended with both of them on the operating table, and fortunately both survived. Jack tried living with one female as well, but that did not work out either. After that he was with a family for about 3 years, where they had a small baby — and so Jack learned to cry like an infant. At present Jack has been with our keeper Ivettka for 5 years. He is content and used to human contact. Both Jack and Ivettka are content and happy. They are an inseparable pair.

Kirry was bought as a ten-year-old female for Harýček, at the time our only turquoise-fronted amazon, so that he would not be alone. After some time Kirry began showing unusual breathing difficulties, and it gradually emerged that she is allergic to the feather dust of other parrots (cockatoos in particular). She spent the summer season outdoors, and for the winter she was placed in the greenhouse of the botanical garden, where the climate was ideal for her. She and Harýček reared 2 chicks on their own.

Kirry Junior hatched at Laguna as a twin with her brother Harry Junior.

Loras's original owner looked after him rather oddly. She fed him human food — sausages, dumplings and so on were not missing either. When she grew tired of him after years, she needed to get rid of him and wanted to have him put down. Fortunately a breeder of African parrots took him in and gave him a home at his breeding facility. Here Loras was at last getting the right food and could see parrots around him. But he was not content here; he needed other amazons with him. The breeder took him to Laguna so that he could find friends of his own kind here. But Loras could not join the group straight away. The poor diet had left its mark on his health. He arrived undernourished and at the same time fatty. From the very start he had to be given supportive medication and gradually pull himself together. After the first stage of treatment he was put in a small aviary with the blind amazon Emilek. Once he is in condition, he will try joining the large group of amazons.

The cockatiel was brought in by breeders whose breeding pair had flown away, leaving three underfed, starving chicks in the nest box. Little Tany was very weak and it took a long time before he was weaned. He was placed in the incubator with the little blue-and-yellow macaw Chaco. Sharing the space did both the cockatiel and the little macaw good. For a while they were brothers. The macaw Chaco grew much faster, but that did not bother them. They slept snuggled into each other — the cockatiel always fitted himself under the little macaw's wing. And that is how they rested later in the aviary too. It was a comical sight when a large macaw sat on a branch with only the tip of a cockatiel's tail peeking out from under his wing. They lived together for several months, then Chaco began joining the other macaws, and there it was already dangerous for the tiny cockatiel. Both parrots came into the world during dramatic days, when a vast fire was raging in South America and destroyed large parts of the rainforest. Laguna put together a project to help the burning part of the southern Pantanal in the Chaco. That is where the macaw got the name CHACO and the cockatiel the name PANTANAL, shortened to TANAL, and so TANY.

Ferdík came to us together with Kryštůfek. The owners rescued both boys from some cellar, out of dreadful conditions. At one unqualified veterinary practice he was diagnosed with diabetes in the past and treated for it as well, but he never had it. He plucked for a long time, which has left his follicles damaged and his feathers do not grow back.

Mandy lived with an elderly woman as her companion. She was very spoiled and so her feeding was not ideal either. The owner's advanced age no longer allowed her to go on looking after Mandy, and so the owner's daughter brought the parrot to Laguna. Mandy has health problems and suffered for a long time from chronic inflammation in her leg, which was eventually cured.

Rozárka comes from a breeder in Plzeň who could not go on looking after her. With us she fell in love with the handsome male Oskar, lives with him as a pair, and Oskar looks after her like a true knight.

Oušn lived contentedly with his female, just as it should be. Everything collapsed when his beloved mate died. Oušn was immensely desperate and within a week he had a stroke. He ended up in several weeks of treatment at the vet's. A little appetite for life was given back to him by another lovebird who was there as a long-term inpatient. When his mate went home, we recommended a new female to the owner. She refused, however, and no longer wanted Oušn. Even though Oušn was still on supportive medication, it was necessary to act fast, as the loneliness was crushing him. He went to Laguna to finish his treatment, because there is a small flock of lovebirds here. And it worked — one female chose Oušn and we moved her into his cage. Oušn needed a partner who would give him a spark of life. After a few weeks he had recovered so well that he and his new mate joined the flock. We named his friend Šance, “chance”, because she was Oušn's chance at a new life. And it worked: Oušn not only has his mate, but lives in a small flock of other lovebirds. And that is how it should be.

His last owner rescued the roughly one-year-old conure from unsuitable conditions. The young conure had been outdoors in an aviary all year round. He was already tearing out his feathers there. He was fed mainly on sunflower seeds. He had evidently had bad experiences with people, because he plucked a great deal. The new owner took the conure home with her, started feeding him a seed mix for conures and he got fresh fruit and vegetables. But he was very afraid of people and of everything. His condition did not improve and he preferred to stay tucked away in the nest box all day. After two months the owner gave up and brought him to Laguna, so that he could make friends here and take his mind off things. Little Bůčo arrived completely plucked and frightened. He spent most of the summer in the outdoor aviary with two other conures. And before autumn came, the plucked little wretch emerged as a beautiful, fully feathered parrot. You can see that the friendship of other conures did him good.

Pyry hatched in the nest box as the fifth chick. The parents looked after the first three chicks exemplarily; the fourth chick sadly died. The fifth chick — our Pyry — was a good deal smaller than the others. The parents were already feeding the bigger chicks coarser food, and they fed tiny Pyry the same way. But she could not yet digest the small seeds. Her crop became blocked, the food soured, mucus formed and digestion stopped. Bacteria immediately began to multiply. The parents tried to get the tiny chick moving, and in their carelessness injured her head. We had to clean out little Pyry's crop, start her on antibiotics and then begin feeding her all over again — light mash and into the incubator. Her digestion was still faltering for a whole week, but in the end everything settled and the little one began to thrive. Today she is a beautiful, healthy conure.

The monk parakeet Pepíček was acquired as a friend for the roughly nine-year-old Senegal parrot Vlastík. They lived together for about two years in a house in Moravia. The monk parakeet Pepíček settled in very quickly and took a liking to the Senegal parrot. In fact he insisted on his ownership rights over him and would no longer lend the tame Vlastík to the owner. But then the owners divorced. Although the parrots had originally been bought for the husband, he was not interested in looking after them, and so all the care was arranged by the woman, who did it gladly. After the divorce the woman took the parrots over and moved with them into a small flat. She tried to provide them with all the care they needed, including letting them out around the flat every day. Except that she also had two cats and a chihuahua. So the animals had to take turns for their free walks around the flat. In the end she decided it was better to place the parrot boys at Laguna, because the cats were constantly lying in wait for a chance to catch one of them, so she chose to head off the accident that was looming. At Laguna they each have the chance to join their own parrot group. For a start they are together, because so far there has been no female for the monk parakeet Pepíček, so that he would not be alone. We have to wait until some princess is found for him.

The parrot lived for 12 years with the nephew of his last owner. When an allergy showed up in the boy after some years, they placed Pepíček with his elderly aunt. The woman looked after him for two years. Pepíček never became friends with her, he attacked her a good deal and feeding him was a problem. For a long time the parrot had been fed grain that was too fatty, and this led to fatty degeneration and damage to his liver. Pepíček started plucking, until only smooth skin was left on his belly. When the woman had an accident and was left on crutches, a serious problem arose. Despite her health complications the woman tried to go on looking after Pepíček, but he kept going for her, until he gave her a nasty wound on the hand that took a long time to heal. It was clear that Pepíček could not stay with her. But nobody wanted a plucked parrot. In tears, the woman took the parrot to the vet's to have him put to sleep, since there was no place for him in the world. Fortunately the vet knew Laguna and, instead of euthanasia, called us and arranged his placement. The happy woman took Pepíček and drove straight from the surgery to Laguna, where the parrot found a new home. At the beginning things were not at all easy with him, because of his state of health. Because of the unsuitable diet and the stress that followed, his liver was badly damaged and his kidneys do not work as they should either. He was put on a targeted diet and is kept under constant supervision. When his condition worsens he is given supportive medication. Hopefully his health will stabilise and he will be here with us for a long time yet. Otherwise he is a cheerful chap full of energy.

My owner and I moved from a house into a new flat and I did not like it there at all, so I screamed as hard as I could. The neighbours were sooo thrilled about how good I am at it. I like it at Laguna, because I can talk with the other parrots, who understand me. But what I like most of all is my new friend Rio; he is a handsome one.

The smallest of the pets, Kubka the Senegal girl likes singing to herself whatever mood she is in.

The owner bought the parrot out from a backyard breeder in Liberec as a present for her husband. They named him Vlastík and spoiled him nicely. He was fed a mix for African parrots; of fruit he liked blueberries, raspberries and the core of a pepper best, but essentially he ate all seasonal fruit and vegetables. As a reward he got a piece of sponge biscuit. The woman tamed him nicely, he would step onto her finger and they had lovely chats. Later a friend joined Vlastík — the monk parakeet Pepíček. The two parrots became great friends. Actually the livelier monk parakeet Pepíček claimed the Senegal parrot Vlastík for himself and would not lend him to the woman any more. They lived nicely in a little house in Moravia. The husband did not look after the parrots, but the woman gave them a lot of attention and cared for them lovingly. Then something went wrong between the people and the couple divorced. Because their owner was not interested in them, the woman took them over into a small flat. She looked after them as best she could and let them out to fly around the flat every day. But she also had two cats and a chihuahua there, so the animals had to be let out in turns. The cats lay in wait for the parrots a good deal, so the woman decided it was better to place both parrot boys at Laguna before any accident happened. The parrots are together for now. We do have a female for the Senegal parrot Vlastík, but then the monk parakeet Pepíček would be left alone. Once we have some princess for Pepíček, we will try offering them both their girls.