Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Theft of abusive German parrot saddens Munich

A parrot who sings opera songs and once famously called the mayor of Munich an asshole has been stolen. The disappearance of Koko has upset the entire neighbourhood which had grown fond of the hot-tempered feathered diva.

Koko, a 36-year-old female parrot who sings operatic arias and hurled abuse at the mayor of Munich, has been stolen, much to the dismay of residents in the city's central Schwabing district.

Koko's owner, Nathalia Ruth, has appealed for witnesses and offered a €500 ($673) reward for her return. "We have no new leads. Koko is well known in Schwabing and the whole district is really upset about this," she said.

Koko, a green Yellow-naped Amazon, is popular with neighbours because she sings a broad array of arias she learned from her former owner, an opera singer. She evidently also has the temper of a true diva, muttering "Where's my ball-point pen?" in between songs and occasionally descending into the profane.

When Munich mayor Christian Ude walked past her on his way to a dentist's appointment in the building three years ago, she called out "You Asshole!" He was so amused that he stopped to chat with her during subsequent visits to the dentist.

Koko was stolen from a courtyard where she would spend sunny days climbing around a tree entertaining her neighbours. Then last Wednesday morning, a mysterious black vehicle drove into the courtyard, two men got out, put Koko in a box and drove off, according to an elderly lady who witnessed the drama.

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