By MASAYOSHI HAYASHI/ Staff Writer
June 10, 2016 at 11:10 JST
Editor's note: This is part of a series of videos offering an up-close perspective on the animal kingdom. A special 360-degree video camera system was set up in zoos and other facilities to show how the animals view their world as they interact.
Also visit our special 360-DEGREE LIVES page (http://t.asahi.com/360lives), where you can watch all the previous videos.
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NIIZA, Saitama Prefecture--To step inside Torimura is to be assaulted by a cacophony of noise. But all that chatting and singing is just talking birds doing what they do best.
Literally meaning “bird village,” Torimura is home to 150 parrots, parakeets and finches. Some 40 species are represented. All of the birds were abandoned by their owners.
The shelter, in operation for the past 16 years, is managed by a nonprofit organization called Tsubasa (wings).
While overbreeding and unbearably loud singing are among the many reasons owners abandon pet birds, it is often because of longevity.
According to Tsubasa, large parrot and parakeet species typically live for 50 to 60 years. Lifespans of more than 100 years have even been recorded.
“Quite a few people start keeping them without knowing that they can live so long,” a Tsubasa member said.
Owners visit Torimura to ask staff members to take in their pets after they have grown too old to care for the birds, the member added.
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The aviary at Torimura, a shelter for abandoned pet birds, in Niiza, Saitama Prefecture (Toshiyuki Takeya)
