Douglas(1967-2019)

Douglas is a Brazilian hyacinth macaw parrot that was hatched in 1967 and imported to Sweden shortly thereafter. He played the parrot Rosalinda in the 1970 film "Pippi Longstocking in the South Seas." In 2002, authorities were considering euthanasia due to its owner at the time not having proper paperwork. After over 50,000 signatures were gathered petitioning for Douglas' life, including one by the actress Inger Nilsson, who played Pippi in the 1970 film. Although its first owner in Sweden produced the proper paper work, Douglas would again find his life in danger. In 2005, he was moved to a small zoo in Malmö, Sweden, where he lived together with a female blue-and-yellow macaw called Gojan when early in 2016, Swedish authorities again had plans to put Douglas down due to its cage being too small and the bird not being allowed to fly. The small zoo could not provide this room so its director argued that due to its age, Douglas was incapable of flying anyhow yet authorities were unwilling to grant an exception. The zoo director turned to the press and over 100 offers for a new home for Douglas and Gojan were received. The Karlsruhe Zoo in Germany was selected and Douglas and Gojan were greeted with a public welcome party on arrival in 2016. Sadly, companion Gojan died in September of that year, but as of November 2018, Douglas, now 51, is still alive at the zoo.