Zoo’s Famous Parrot Sings
"Take Me Out to the Ballgame"

Watch Coco in Spring Training, Now on YouTube

Coco, the Cincinnati Zoo’s famous 24-year-old yellow-naped Amazon parrot is gearing up for the 2008 baseball season. Coco is famous for her amazing ability the mimic the six most popular words in the baseball song, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” And, just like baseball players, Coco gets her motivation from sunflower seeds and peanuts.

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In 2004, Coco thrilled Reds fans with her famous rendition, marking the first time a parrot has ever led the crowd in singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh-inning-stretch at a Major League ballpark. And in 2007, she was a crowd-favorite for baseball and wildlife fans alike, in her first appearance in the Annual Findlay Market Opening Day Parade, as she sang her way through downtown Cincinnati. Weather permitting, Coco is set to serenade fans again in the 2008 Findlay Market Opening Day Parade aboard the Cincinnati Zoo float.

“ I have no doubt that Coco will once again steal the show with her famous voice,” said Thane Maynard, Executive Director of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. “We always have a lot of fun on the Zoo float, and I hope everyone along the parade route will join in and sing along with Coco.”

The float will also feature Thane Maynard with his wild animals, and an enormous assortment of exotic plants and giraffe stilt walkers to celebrate the Zoo’s brand new “Giraffe Ridge” exhibit, which opens this June.

Coco came to the Cincinnati Zoo as a baby in early 1984. Yellow-naped Amazon parrots are primarily found in the rainforests of Central America. They are considered endangered in the wild due to habitat loss and illegal removal for the pet trade. However, recent laws being passed world wide have helped to curb illegal removal of all parrots in the wild.

Visitors can see Coco in action during the Zoo’s summer Great American Wings of Wonder Bird Show.