Firefighters rescue parrot, owner stuck in tree in Ontario park

An exotic parrot and its proprietor successful Peterborough, Ont., reached caller heights that required rescuing from firefighters past week.

Harshil Parikh and his woman often return their pet macaw “Jojo” for a locomotion without utilizing a cage.

“If I americium taking Jojo successful nan neighbourhood past I do not transportation cage pinch me,” he said. “He likes to beryllium connected my manus and JoJo ne'er flies away.”

That was existent — until Canada Day.

Parikh says during an day sojourn to Beavermead Park pinch family, he and three-year aged JoJo sat further distant from nan engaged crowd adjacent nan beach.

“Jojo was happy, comfortable, having his treats,” said Parikh. “But he wasn’t liking if personification is stopping by and talking astir him. He is now slow getting usage to it. However, sometimes Jojo doesn’t for illustration it.”

Parikh says he near nan chiefly blue-feathered vertebrate pinch his woman to walk immoderate clip flying a kite. However, he says nan vertebrate inexplicably “panicked” and abruptly flew precocious into a adjacent dormant character — astir 30 to 40 feet high, he estimates.

“I don’t cognize what triggered him to fly, possibly nan kids aliases a ball,” said Parikh.

What unfolded was a five-hour feathery standoff  — arsenic Jojo refused to travel down from his newfound perch, contempt repeated calls and coaxing from Parikh, his woman and bystanders.

“Jojo ne'er took this precocious formation earlier truthful he was besides frightened and sewage froze there,” Parikh surmised. “He was giving consequence to my calling but was not assured capable to alert down.”

Parikh besides called 911 for Peterborough Fire Services’ help. He says officials initially suggested they hold for Jojo to alert down connected its own.

Not consenting to springiness up truthful easily, Parkih says his woman tied sticks together utilizing her footwear laces and socks to effort to scope nan bird. Friends joined their efforts and put together a longer, dense extendable stick.

“It was dense to assistance it up to that tallness pinch 1 manus and I was besides trying support my equilibrium connected nan (bottom of the) tree,” said Parikh. “I put 1 extremity of nan instrumentality adjacent to Jojo truthful he could locomotion connected it towards me. Jojo stepped up connected it a mates of times but was frightened to locomotion connected it.

“At last, my babe recovered different branch and he walked connected it towards me,” he continued. “Now he was truthful adjacent to maine but still couldn’t locomotion anymore because now nan branch was not consecutive and wholly diagonal to nan ground.”

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Parikh says aft astir 5 hours, he simply decided to climb up nan character to rescue his bird. He admits he didn’t deliberation astir imaginable injuries, stating he was much concerned astir Jojo’s fate.

“I was worried that chaotic birds will termination him,” he said.

As he was climbing, his woman made different 911 telephone to nan occurrence section to explicate nan situation. Parikh yet reached Jojo’s level and was “so relieved” erstwhile his feathery friend returned to his arm.

There was conscionable 1 problem — really to get backmost to nan crushed safely pinch Jojo.

“I was truthful relieved. I had nary thought if truthful galore group are looking astatine maine and (asking) really I will travel down,” he said. “My girlfriend, my friends, my family, they each were yelling from nan ground. They were worried and I didn’t want to disappoint immoderate of them but I besides couldn’t disregard Jojo.”

Parikh estimates it was little than 15 minutes erstwhile Peterborough Fire Services arrived. Video from nan incident shows firefighters who deployed an aerial ladder pinch a handbasket pinch 2 firefighters who first sewage Jojo into his cage — though nan vertebrate initially resisted — and past Parikh.

The saga ended astir 9:15 p.m. Parkih says he’s grateful to nan firefighters for efforts to thief “get his babe back.”

Global News has reached to nan occurrence section for comment.

When asked if Jojo will sojourn Beavermead Park again, Parikh said precautions will beryllium taken.

“I will return JoJo retired for nan walks and to nan parks, however, I will beryllium much observant erstwhile I return him extracurricular and not time off his broadside moreover for a second,” said Parikh.