Smart Animals
16 | June• 2018
You could earn cash by telling us
about the antics of unique pets or
wildlife. Turn to pageȎȎfor details
on how to contribute.quickly. I would always tell him what
I was doing and always asked him if
he liked the music I played.
He would make me laugh by
practising new words, and if he didn’t
pronounce them correctly, he would
mutter loudly, which I took to mean
he was cursing himself.
I left Bubba’s cage open unless
he did something naughty, when I
would shut him in till he behaved. It
didn’t take long and he soon learned
to say, “Bubba’s a good boy.” WhenBUBBA THE BUDGIE
CLARE ELLIS
Bubba, a handsome blue-and-
turquoise budgie, was the best little
companion I could have hoped
for. At 88 years of age, I don’t plan
to have any more pets, but for 12
years, Bubba and I kept each other
company throughout the day.
I bought him from my local pet
shop, when he was a baby; the bigger
budgies were pushing him away from
the seed dish and of the end of the
perch – so I had to save him.
I asked him his name, and he
replied, “Bibbi”. I changed it to
“Bubba”. He must have liked it
because he learned to say it pretty
Some animals are more like us than we think