Douglas ( ca 1967 – 23 February 2019) was the male

scarlet macaw The scarlet macaw (''Ara macao'') is a large red, yellow, and blue Central and South American parrot, a member of a large group of Neotropical parrots called macaws. It is native to humid evergreen forests of the Neotropics. Its range extends from ...

that played the parrot Rosalinda in the 1970

Pippi Longstocking Pippi Longstocking ( sv, Pippi Långstrump) is the fictional main character in an eponymous series of children's books by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren. Pippi was named by Lindgren's daughter Karin, who asked her mother for a get-well story w ...

film ''Pippi in the South Seas''. Douglas was imported from Brazil to Sweden in 1967, three years before starring in the movie. Douglas was capable of singing and of speaking a few dozen words in Swedish.

Later life

In 2002, 32 years after ''Pippi in the South Seas'', Douglas garnered much attention in the

Swedish press ''Swedish Press'' is North America’s only Swedish monthly magazine. The readership consists mainly of Swedish expats and Swedish descendants living in Canada and the United States, as well as North American businesses with links to Sweden. It is ...

when authorities were considering putting him to death because his owner did not have the proper paperwork. A petition pleading for Douglas's life received over 50,000 signatures, including that of actress

Inger Nilsson Karin Inger Monica Nilsson (born 4 May 1959) is a Swedish actress and singer. She is a former child actress. She is primarily known for her portrayal of Pippi Longstocking in the Swedish-produced TV series of the same name during 1969 which was ...

, who played Pippi in the 1970 movie. Ultimately Douglas was spared after his first owner in Sweden produced the correct paperwork, showing that Douglas had been legally imported from Brazil in 1967.Sigrid Harms
Papagei aus „Pippi Langstrumpf“: Douglas muss sterben

Spiegel Online ''Der Spiegel (online)'' is a German news website. Before the renaming in January 2020, the website's name was ''Spiegel Online'' (short ''SPON''). It was founded in 1994 as the online offshoot of the German news magazine, '' Der Spiegel'', w ...

, 7 April 2016 (German)Pippis Papagei darf weiterleben – in Karlsruhe
''

Der Tagesspiegel ''Der Tagesspiegel'' (meaning ''The Daily Mirror'') is a German daily newspaper. It has regional correspondent offices in Washington D.C. and Potsdam. It is the only major newspaper in the capital to have increased its circulation, now 148,000, ...

'', 14 April 2016 (German) In 2005, Douglas was moved to a small tropical zoo in

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal pop ...

where he lived with a female

blue-and-yellow macaw The blue-and-yellow macaw (''Ara ararauna''), also known as the blue-and-gold macaw, is a large South American parrot with mostly blue top parts and light orange underparts, with gradient hues of green on top of its head. It is a member of the la ...

called Gojan. In early 2016, Douglas once more attracted the attention of the Swedish (and later German) media when authorities once again had plans to put Douglas to death, this time because his three-square-meter cage was too small and prohibited Douglas from flying. The authorities requested an

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. Avi ...

of at least 30 square meters, which the zoo could not provide, but zoo director Frank Madsen argued that the 49-year-old Douglas was incapable of flying anyway and that there was no sense in cutting the parrot's remaining years short. With the authorities unwilling to grant an exception, Madsen turned to the press and soon received more than 100 offers for a new home for Douglas and Gojan. Ultimately the Karlsruhe Zoo in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

was selected and in April, Madsen himself delivered Douglas and Gojan to Karlsruhe, where they were greeted with a public welcome party. After Gojan died at the age of 45 in September 2016, the zoo paired Douglas with Rubin,'' Papagei aus "Pippi Langstrumpf" – Ara Douglas ist jetzt Witwer ''
''Spiegel Online'', 23 September 2016 (German) a 22-year-old scarlet macaw that arrived in October. Douglas died of natural causes at the Karlsruhe Zoo on 23 February 2019, aged 51.''"Rosalinda" ist tot: Pippi Langstrumpfs Papagei stirbt im Karlsruher Zoo''
ka-news, 24 February 2019 (German)

Notes

External links

*Klaus Esterluß
''A movie star's sunset years''
Deutsche Welle, 12 May 2016
Douglas
at the Karlsruhe Zoo (video, German)
''Rosalinda, der Pippi Langstrumpf Papagei in Karlsruhe''
– video report on the relocation to the Karlsruhe Zoo (video, German) Animal actors Animals in entertainment Individual parrots Pippi Longstocking 1967 animal births 2019 animal deaths

Later life

See also

Notes

External links