Parrot is ‘attention hog’ and smart as human toddler, owners say

Apollo is an African gray parrot with a deep love for pistachios and a massive following on social media. His cognitive abilities are often compared to those of a young child.

Dalton Mason and his wife, Victoria, discovered Apollo at a pet store in St. Petersburg in 2020 while shopping for crickets for their gecko. Apollo, just 8 months old at the time, had been surrendered by his previous owner.

Victoria, who has always been passionate about birds, had dreamed of owning a parrot. "Birds are the pets for us," she said. Since adopting Apollo, the Masons have trained him to recognize various objects, colors, and even some numbers. Apollo can differentiate between materials like glass, metal, and paper, greet people with phrases such as “Hey, buddies,” and solve simple puzzles.

Apollo’s appeal has garnered him an impressive online following: 2.9 million followers on TikTok, 1.4 million subscribers on YouTube, and 1.3 million followers on Instagram. His rise to fame began in 2022, largely due to his charismatic and show-off personality. “He’s an attention hog,” Dalton noted.

The Masons are dedicated to Apollo’s training, which has become their primary source of income. They acknowledge the challenges of caring for such a demanding pet. In one viral video, Apollo requests “I want fresh water.”

In addition to Apollo, the Masons care for two white-bellied caiques, Soleil and Ophelia, who provide emotional support but aren’t as intellectually advanced as African gray parrots.

Dr. Irene Pepperberg, known for her groundbreaking research on African gray parrots, noted that Apollo’s skills are reminiscent of those of Alex, her famous parrot. Her studies demonstrated that African grays have exceptional learning potential.

Employing training methods similar to those used with Alex, the Masons have observed that Apollo shows cognitive abilities comparable to those of a human toddler. His accomplishments include setting a Guinness World Record for identifying 12 objects in three minutes.

“Apollo is Officially Amazing,” said Kylie Galloway from Guinness World Records. The Masons are enthusiastic about Apollo's future and eagerly anticipate his continued success.