Days before China's Gaokao college entrance exams, a Weibo user posted a picture online of his beloved lost parrot. He said that his child, who was about to take the exam, was distraught from losing the pet. 

But instead of finding it, Weibo users discovered that the animal is an African grey parrot, an IUCN endangered species that cannot be legally kept as a pet in China.

The grey parrot, also known as the Congo grey parrot or African grey parrot, is endemic to equatorial Africa. The parrot's body is grey while the tail feathers are red. 

Because of their vibrant appearance and their mimicry of human speech, their population has declined sharply due to their being poached as pets.

Wild African grey parrots are one of the most traded species in the world. Research published in 2015 reported that the grey parrots have been "virtually eliminated" in Ghana, with losses between 90 to 99 percent since 1992. 

Thanks to illegal poaching and trading, the wild parrots may end up as pets one day.

A total ban on the trade in wild African grey parrot was implemented in 2016, with the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Fauna and Flora (CITES) listing the species on Appendix I, prohibiting all international trade in wild parrots.

In 2017, a man in Shenzhen City was sentenced to five years in jail for keeping and selling the parrots in 2017.

The parrot was missing in a community at Changchun City, northeastern China's Jilin Province. A lot of the Weibo users have said that the Jilin Forestry Bureau should impose penalties on the family.

Keeping grey parrots is not allowed, but domestic birds are permitted if the owner holds an official breeding and keeping license. 

As for the missing bird, it is suggested that the bird owner keep the cage open and make sure it's full of food and water because the smart bird may return. 

As the environment in northeast China is not suitable for the exotic bird, going back to its human keeper may be good for its survival.

(Cover photo via VCG)

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