A sulphur-crested cockatoo that had been living inside a Sydney supermarket for four weeks and surviving on brioche has been captured by wildlife services.
Mickey had been trapped in the Coles supermarket in Campbelltown, New South Wales, for almost a month, with multiple rescue attempts proving unsuccessful as the bird was spooked by people.
New South Wales environment minister Penny Sharpe announced on Tuesday evening that the bird had “been safely captured by wildlife rescuers after spending way too long in Macarthur Square”. “Mickey is being assessed by experts. We hope Mickey will be flying free by tomorrow,” she said.
The native bird was reportedly trapped inside a store around four weeks ago after flying in through the loading dock of the supermarket.
A concerned wildlife enthusiast named Tom contacted 2GB on Monday after hearing about a plan to shoot the bird as multiple efforts to release it back into the wild had proved unsuccessful. “The common sense and the right answer is so simple and they make it so difficult and make the wrong answer at the end of the day. What’s the harm in catching the bird and releasing it?” Tom said.
Authorities, however, assured the public that Mickey was never in danger of being shot. Wildlife rescuers had even brought in another cockatoo, Old Lady Doris, to reassure Mickey, but it remained scared.
A Coles spokesperson confirmed that while the bird was no longer inside the store, it remained within the shopping centre as of Monday afternoon. “The cockatoo, which has become a friendly fixture in the Macarthur Square shopping centre, is currently not inside Coles but exploring other areas inside the broader shopping precinct,” the spokesperson said.
New South Wales premier Chris Minns said on Tuesday: “We don’t want to shoot wildlife. Mickey is everyone in Sydney’s spirit animal at the moment, eating free food.”
A spokesperson for Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service, or Wires, a wildlife rescue organisation, had earlier cautioned against leaving food out for the bird as it could lead to health problems. On 12 August, Wires helped rescue another cockatoo that had gotten stuck inside a shopping centre. “This is generally the only way we are able to free the birds that regularly fly into the centre via the large sliding opening doors into the complex,” she said.
Ms Sharpe thanked everyone “who rallied to help Mickey, including staff at Coles, Sydney Wildlife Service, Wires and the team at NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service”.
Labor MP for Campbelltown, Greg Warren, said: “I am looking forward to seeing Mickey back in the wild back where he belongs.”