Apr 10, 2008 10:57 am US/Eastern
Naked Bird Wows Florida Crowd
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (CBS) ―
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Oscar the cockatoo is suffering from a viral infection that prevents the growth of feathers.
Broward County Humane Society
Fred the Cockatoo, who played alongside actor Robert Blake in the TV show "Baretta," is by far one of the most recognizable and famous feathered friends around. Now however, there's a South Florida cockatoo that may give Fred a run for his money.
Her name is Oscar. Yes, she has a boy's name but that's not the only unique thing about her. She's a naked cockatoo who doesn't have any feathers and who always draws a crowd as the unofficial mascot of the Broward County Humane Society in Florida, report CBS station WFOR-TV in Miami.
Cherie Wachter, the Broward County Humane Society director of marketing said the shelter received Oscar from the Wildlife Care Center. She was sick, they said, with a viral infection called beak and feather disease and probably had about six months to live. That was 10 years ago.
Oscar has never had a full coat of feathers. The disease attacks feather follicles and the beak and claws of birds. In Oscar's case, whatever feathers tried to grow would irritate her so badly she would pull them out. All that was left was a tiny tuft of feathers on the top of her head.
Beak and feather disease is considered fatal and often birds die shortly after showing signs of it. In some rare cases, other birds have lived months to years after contracting it and that's the case with Oscar much to the delight of workers, volunteers and visitors.
Oscar isn't just funny looking, she's actually funny, loves to talk, and loves to get attention.
She also eats anything she wants. In addition to a healthy diet of bird food, Oscar loves McDonald's hash browns, cottage cheese with fruit mixed in, and blueberry pancakes.
As Wachter says, "Everybody shares her lunch with her."
While Oscar doesn't seem too picky about her food, she is picky about her friends. Wachter says Oscar simply loves kids and most of the shelter's workers and volunteers. There are a couple of volunteers that seem to rub her the wrong way, however, and she simply doesn't like them.
The average lifespan of a big bird like Oscar can be 70 to 80 years. Wachter says as long as the disease affects only her feathers and doesn't get worse, Oscar may be around for a long time.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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