Alex the Parrot's last words were misquoted. According to his owner Dr. Pepperberg, the day before he died, Alex repeated his daily words, "Be well. I love you. See you tomorrow."
→ Alex has many cognitive abilities that have been the subject of research. However, there is no information about his IQ test score in these articles.
Alex the parrot was the subject of scientific studies by Dr. Pepperberg
Alex, an African gray parrot, is one of the world's most recognizable animals and the protagonist of a thirty-year experiment that psychologist Irene Pepperberg aims to showcase around the world. Alex's name, an acronym for "Avian Learning EXperiment", also describes the purpose of the experiment. Dr. Pepperberg bought Alex from a pet store in 1977 and since then, Alex has been an integral part of research on language learning, especially in parrots. Dr. Pepperberg's work on Alex challenged the common belief that birds have limited cognitive abilities. Alex's ability to learn language, understand concepts such as size/smallness, sameness/difference and count to six showed that birds can have complex thought processes. Alex died in 2007, but his legacy lives on through the Alex Foundation, founded by Dr. Pepperberg, which aims to support the study of animal cognition and communication. The foundation aims to support research into the cognitive and communicative abilities of parrots, as well as to promote the conservation and welfare of these intelligent creatures.
Alex the Parrot's Words Before His Death Were Not Accurately Transcribed
"Don't feel sorry for me, I love you," Alex is quoted as saying to his owner before he died. There are many anecdotes about Alex from Dr. Pepperberg, as he was a research subject, and Alex's last words before he died have been very popular online. But the post misquoted Alex's words in an attempt to create more emotional sensationalism.
In Pepperberg's 2008 book "Alex & Me: How a Scientist and a Parrot Uncovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence-and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process", he detailed his last day with Alex. Emphasizing that he and Alex had the same conversation every day when they parted, Pepperberg wrote that this conversation was as follows:
Alex: Be good, I love you. Dr. Pepperberg: I love you too.
Alex: Will you be here tomorrow?
Dr. Pepperberg: Yes, I will be here tomorrow.
Alex's ability to learn language, understand concepts such as size/smallness, sameness/difference and count to six showed that birds can have complex thought processes. With a vocabulary of more than 100 words, Alex was able to recognize objects, colors and shapes. His ability to ask questions and behaviors such as asking existential questions indicated his level of consciousness and self-awareness. For example, by questioning his own color, he showed that he was aware of his own existence and identity. While Alex's multidimensional abilities have been the subject of many articles, there is no information that he scored 77 on an IQ test. A quick internet search reveals that this information has been disseminated in Turkish content about Alex the Parrot.
