Pepper, the cockatoo allegedly stolen from Staglands Wildlife Reserve, has been returned safely after being found in Porirua.
On Friday night, 1News aired a story about Pepper, the six-year-old cockatoo that went missing.
“A young man was apparently in the gym and saw the 1News article, knew straight away that it was the bird he had purchased on Monday, and yeah, fortunately for us he just knew straight away that the right thing to do was to take Pepper to the nearest police station,” Staglands general manager Sarah Purdy said.
Constable Tushar – on his first day on the front line – took care of her until her keepers arrived at Porirua Police Station.
Staglands staff were reunited with Pepper at the police station on Friday night.
“We got a call from the Porirua police to say they were 99% sure that our bird had just been handed in,” Purdy said.
It’s understood the man paid about $1500 for Pepper when he purchased the parrot online, and he has given the police a description of the person who sold the bird to him.
“Hopeful the police might get a little bit more information, and perhaps get to the bottom of it,” Purdy said.
The cockatoo had lost some weight since going missing from the wildlife reserve last weekend.
Pepper, 6, was taken from Staglands last weekend and sold to an unsuspecting buyer. (Source: 1News)
Purdy said she was “very grateful” to have the bird back.
“Absolutely an early Christmas miracle … she’s really happy, really happy to be back.
“We’re very thankful for the news article that brought Pepper home,” she added. “Couldn’t have a better ending.”
For extra security, Pepper has now been moved to a different aviary at Staglands, which the public cannot walk through – but people can see her through a fence.
Purdy thanked the young man who took Pepper to the police station and also thanked the community for their support.
