Bruce, a disabled kea parrot in New Zealand, became the big boss of his flock. He did this despite missing his entire upper beak, which forced him to invent his own fighting style, helping him establish dominance in his social group.
Before I go on, it should be noted that the kea’s social group is known as a “circus,” which to me immediately implies that I can’t take any of these birds seriously. Still, Bruce’s story is inspiring.
According to a study published in Current Biology, Bruce, a kea at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve in New Zealand, developed a jousting-like technique for using his beak to establish dominance. Usually, Keas do this by using their fully functioning beaks to bite their opponents around the neck. Bruce takes the unconventional route of charging forward and slamming into his rivals with his lower beak. He mixes in some jumps and kicks for good measure to keep his rivals on their toes.
It’s an unconventional fighting style, but it works for his very specific condition. It works so well, in fact, that the researchers say that Bruce is seemingly undefeated.
How Bruce, a Disabled Parrot, Became the Top Bird in His Circus
That in itself is inspiring enough to make Bruce special. But Bruce’s specialness can be found in more than just his will to leave despite all holding him back. It could be found in his measurable stress levels, which were the lowest among all the males, a typical marker of alpha status. This guy has leadership coursing through his veins. His high-ranking social status is rewarded by his circus with priority access to food and grooming from other birds. As Mel Brooks once said, it’s good to be the king.
An even more remarkable fact about Bruce is that this isn’t even his first time being studied by researchers for having accomplished something spectacular. He was previously documented using pebbles as tools to preen his feathers, another way of compensating for his missing upper beak. No other kea in his social group does this, meaning that he likely developed this independently as a workaround for his disability.
Animals are just as capable of adapting to disabilities as we are; they just don’t have the access to prosthetics in physical therapy and whatnot that we do. But they still find ways to make their disabilities work for them rather than against them. And, in the case of Bruce, make them work for them so well that they become the undisputed leader of their group.
The post How a Disabled Parrot Named Bruce Became the Alpha of His Circus appeared first on VICE.
