WATCH: A macaw named Rufus has been missing for nearly two weeks in Sooke but there’s new hope the pampered pet is surviving. April Lawrence reports.
Braving a heavy downpour, Wilf Klingsat and his macaw Tangle searched desperately Wednesday for their best buddy Rufus.
The 15-year-old green wing macaw was hanging out in a tree on Klingsat’s property on Charters Road in Sooke when he got spooked and took off.
“I’ve never seen him fly before, never flown, not in 15 years,” said Klingsat.
That was 13 days ago and Klingsat has been scouring the area every day since from dawn until dusk and going door to door to see if anyone has seen his beloved bird.
“It’s hard it’s just like it was one of your kids, I know it sounds funny but we’re really attached to these guys, we treat them like kids, and they’ve been with us 15 years already,” said Klingsat, who owns five macaws.
“They have it really well they have TV’s and VCR’s and they get played with and taken out on rides.”
But after nearly two weeks, does the pampered pet stand a chance in the Sooke wilderness? It turns out he does.
“It flew right from that side of the forest right across the open area of our yard,” said Jen Wilde, who lives on Phillips Road.
Wilde was eating lunch Monday when she spotted a bright red bird fly by ? her husband had seen a post online about a missing parrot.
“He said its name is Rufus so I went out on the deck and I called for Rufus and he responded a couple times actually,” Wilde said.
She called Klingsat who brought Rufus’s cage out, complete with his favourite toys and his favourite food ? organic pine nuts.
Wilde lives up the river from the property where Rufus first went missing.
Since her sighting Monday, others in the area have reported hearing a macaw in the trees.
But while Rufus may have found a food source, the cool, wet weather is becoming problematic.
“If he gets damp, he’ll start shivering and get hypothermia,” said Klingsat.
So Klingsat and Tangle continue their relentless search, hoping their calls will eventually be answered.
April Lawrence
