L.A. County Sheriff's deputies are working to solve a mystery involving trapped red and green Mexican parrots in Temple City.
Somebody put up green netting between trees on Las Tunas Drive and Rosemead Boulevard in October. This created a trap for parrots, who are getting tangled in the netting. At least two of the wild birds have died.
KNX News’ Emily Valdez spoke to L.A. County Sheriff’s Department Sergeant Richard Lewis, who works out of Temple City. He said that the department is not sure what to suspect at this time.
He’s been a resident of San Gabriel Valley for nearly 25 years and has seen these parrots everywhere.
“I've never seen anybody trap them,” Lewis said. “I've never seen anything, nothing like this has been reported to us previously or since. We found no foul play as it were.”
There is a video circulating of a man taking down one of the nets with a parrot in it and getting into his car. However, Lewis said they’ve talked to the man, who explained that he was trying to help the bird. The man claimed to have previously found another parrot in a net that had died. He also told Lewis he set the bird free.
Lewis said the man is not a suspect at this time.
Now, where the heck did they come from?
These parrots aren’t actually native to Southern California. It’s believed that these birds created a home here through the pet trade. There are plenty of theories, but it seems to have started with the steady escape of pet parrots over time.
Now, you can come across these birds in cities – like Temple City – across Southern California.
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