Shall I go to the soup?

It just so happened that the other day I was invited to the cast selection, sorry, casting, for one of the most popular programs of RTL Klub. Can you say no to that?

May. What is that! Very! But let's not get ahead of ourselves. It all happened a few days ago when I received the following message in the Messenger account of my private Facebook profile:

"Hello! I'm Timi and I'm writing to you from RTL Klub about a role opportunity. I am looking for people who would like to come with their favorite small animal to one of our most popular shows. If you would be interested in contacting me, please send me your phone number and I will call you with the details. Have a nice day! Tim"

I won't deny, the message of the unknown program production assistant in charge of recruitment piqued my interest somewhat, although I never watch RTL Klub or any other commercial channel, it's true, I don't really watch TV either, but in its unusualness it made me curious as to what kind of program it might be, but even more so : for which of my small animals - or small animals? – could you have thought, Timi?

Because there are more of them, both in terms of species and pieces, so instead of guessing, I gave my phone number, and the call came not long after. From here on, the story became really interesting, as Timi immediately got to the point and announced that for the next season of the culinary reality series Chef of the Kitchen, actors are being recruited who, on the one hand, excel in the science of cooking - well, at least they like to cook - and, on the other hand, this production with their pet would be carried out; some will do it with a horse, some will do it with a parrot - he concluded his monologue.

At that point, I already felt that the makers didn't think of my 45-kilogram German shepherds as kitchen organic dishes, and after I don't have any newts, there will be parrots, among them Rumba, who is now growing in popularity thanks to YouTube; I assume Timi may have contacted me because of him, although he didn't say it explicitly.

And now let's make a small ethological digression, in which I will tell you some basics about the behavior of parrots, more specifically the African gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus) , one of the famous representatives of which is also one of my birds. First of all, let's emphatically state the fact that many people, including the producers of the show, ignore: unlike domesticated dogs, parrots are wild animals, so coexistence and cooperation with them are naturally subject to different rules than interacting with a pet.

The jay is also considered a "feathered monkey" among parrots, which are considered intelligent birds, and this is no accident; although its brain is only the size of a walnut, the dense network of neurons that "embraces" the organ results in extraordinary intelligence. In addition, two other factors make him stand out from other parrot species: one is his ability to imitate sounds, and not only because he is able to perfectly learn hundreds of words and connected sentences, but also because he connects what he has learned to action. This is one of the reasons why we say that he does not simply imitate sounds, but speaks. The other factor is its extra sensitivity: it is no exaggeration to say that the jacáco is the most sensitive of the known parrot species, so keeping it requires extreme commitment, patience and sacrifice. These birds are prone to self-mutilation if the housing conditions are not suitable, and there are few sadder sights than a parrot self-injured as a result of human irresponsibility.

I note in parenthesis that the studies on the African gray parrot are still mostly available in foreign languages, with the exception of Irene M. Pepperberg's monograph published in Hungary entitled Alex and I By the way, the European name of the bird is of German origin, because when the tall übermensch were colonizing in Central Africa, they noticed this extremely docile, beautiful animal, and said to it: "Yes, come on!" i.e. "Yes, come!" That's how they got the name jákó.

And then back to the cooking show, whose creators seem to want to increase the ratings by featuring the stars of the next season with their animals in the kitchen. It is difficult to say in advance which member of a couple will be the star and who will get the other role.

What is certain, however, is that the kitchen is a child- and pet-friendly environment, full of options such as burning and cutting. After all, who hasn't cooked fried meat or chopped onions with a baby around their neck, while their little pet - whether it's a hamster, a guinea pig, a salamander or a parrot - is slaloming on the counter?

With this much power, RTL could also organize a knife-sharpening competition for children, there would surely be someone who would enter their child in exchange for 15 minutes of fame.

In today's world, this is only natural, the zeitgeist demands innovations, and anyone who says otherwise is not progressive enough.

But safety is only one aspect, the other is just as trivial hygiene. No matter how surprising, a parrot (i.e. a prey animal), even if it were to sit on a person's shoulder like a parrot, and could not be moved from there with a spotlight, strangers and noises - such as stuffed animals or parrots made with a 3D printer - is still enough would do to certain vital functions, such as voiding. Although my birds are house cleaners, more or less the mountain parrots are too, and Rumba has been particularly good at this since he was very young, this does not mean that they do not empty a sizeable one every 15-20 minutes. The question is where, since room cleanliness can only be interpreted according to their usual environment and daily routine, but a TV cooking show can hardly be called that. Then there is the issue of feather powder, which is very relevant in the case of jacquards. Anyone who keeps such a parrot knows exactly that even high-quality air filters do not completely solve the problem.

In the end, I just let out a shocked sigh after listening to the plan, but Timi must have misunderstood because he immediately asked: "and if we pay?" I didn't have the heart to face the reality, but I revealed so much because the choice of topic surprised me, because I naively expected a program related to animal husbandry culture or responsible animal husbandry, or maybe exotic animals in the apartment. However, I doubt that the crosstalk would have reached its goal.

In any case, Rumba doesn't go into the soup, and I continue to age peacefully, and I'm trying to make friends with the idea that I won't become a TV star this year either.

Featured Image: Pixabay