Did UK zoo have to split up five profane parrots?

In April 2026, a rumor circulated online that a zoo in the U.K. had to split up a group of five African gray parrots because the birds shouted expletives at guests and staff.

One Facebook page posted the claim (archived) alongside an image of five gray parrots and overlaid text that read, "They cursed at every visitor who walked by, laughed about it together, and the zoo had to break up the gang before 200 other parrots learned it too."

The rumor also circulated on Instagram (archived) and Bluesky (archived). The latter post said the animals were located at Lincolnshire Wildlife Park, in Friskney, Lincolnshire.

In short, the claim is true. Lincolnshire Wildlife Park's CEO Steve Nichols said via email on April 24 that the five birds — whom the zoo took in during the COVID-19 pandemic — still cursed, though mostly at staff.

Though he said the behavior had been difficult to capture on camera, Nichols shared a clip (archived) from February 2025 that showed Elsie, one of the original five cursing parrots, eloquently telling Nichols to "F*** off" (time code 01:15).

The image that circulated alongside the Facebook claim above did not come from Lincolnshire Wildlife Park. Online artificial intelligence detectors Hive Moderation and Sightengine found a high likelihood that someone created the image using AI. (It's worth noting that AI image detectors are not always reliable, especially for images generated using latest-generation AI models.)

The zoo shared actual images of the birds on its website, which also featured more information about the birds, snippets of their many press appearances and a section on why the profane pandemonium of parrots were separated.

Reports about Lincolnshire Wildlife Park's "famous five" have circulated online since at least 2020, when the zoo took the birds into its care. According to Nichols, the park received the birds from five different owners but soon found they shared a unique skillset. He added:

While it is not uncommon for owners to inform us that their parrots have picked up inappropriate language, it was certainly unusual to hear the same from five separate owners within such a short space of time.

The zoo kept the five birds — named Jade, Billy, Tyson, Eric and Elsie — together during their initial quarantine period before introducing them into the park's wider population, which meant they had ample opportunity to breed more bad behavior. 

After the birds continued to shout expletives while on exhibit, the zoo isolated the culprits before eventually splitting them up across different aviaries to try to encourage them to learn other sounds. The split happened after three more parrots at the zoo reportedly also learned to curse. By 2026, the zoo's plan appeared to have worked. Speaking via email, Nichols said:

We still have all five parrots, and they now live happily within the main flock. They do still swear, although it tends to be lost amongst the noise of the other birds. That said, when staff enter the aviaries it's not uncommon to be greeted with a very direct "F*** off," which, even after many years of working with parrots, remains highly amusing.

It remains unclear whether the foul-mouthed flock would ever completely stop cursing. However, an October 2025 DW News report (archived) that featured interviews with visitors at the park found that, luckily, guests weren't offended.

According to the National Audobon Society, a U.S. nonprofit dedicated to conserving and restoring birds and their habitats, parrots are among the best birds at learning how to mimic human speech. They are especially attuned to phrases or sounds associated with emotion or commotion, the society reported, which could go some way to explaining why they are so good at learning profanities.

For further reading, Snopes has previously reported on another profane parrot and whether it got kicked out of former U.S. President Andrew Jackson's funeral.