Alex & Me, by Dr. Irene Pepperberg

[Echo]

Yes I believe Dr. Pepperberg is still working in the lab at Brandeis University in Massachussetts on her research (The ALEX Foundation).

 

[horsesculpter]

Had Dr Pepperberg taken Alex home and treated him as a pet her research would never have happened. Only in a research lab setting was she able to get the grants needed and use the scientific controls needed for the research to be accepted by the scientific community. If you read the book you will realize what a huge hurdle she faced getting animal behaviorists to accept that Alex had these cognitive abilities. We seem to have the opinion that we alone [humans] in the animal kingdom have these kinds of reasoning ability. Alex did a hugh service for parrots and all animals by expanding the thinking of these scientists. Dr Pepperberg had to treat him like a colleague so that she would not be accused of letting her feelings for him influence her scientific conclusions.