Mary Sue Sanders, aged 9, of Winnsboro, B.C. for her question:

Can parakeets live wild in South Carolina?

Not so long ago there were plenty of wild parakeets living wild in South Carolina. In fact, there were wild parakeets throughout much of our Southland. One variety was called the Carolina parakeets He was a bright little fellow as pretty as any pet parakeet, budgie or lovebird.

This little wild parakeet wore feathers of bright yellow and gold. He had a little hooked beak and a pointed tail. But the farmers decided the gay fellow was g pest to their orchards. He loved fruit Hunters decided his bright feathers were worth taking

For these reasons, the little bird was hunted without mercy. Soon there were few Carolina parakeets left. A small group of them finally took refuge in eastern Florida. But they failed to survive. The very last of the Carolina parakeets were seen near Lake Okeechobee. This was in April of the year 1904, Since then we have had no wild Carolina parakeets.

It seems that almost any parakeet could live wild in the Carolinas The climate is right for them. They could find food and cope with their natural enemies in the animal world. But ‑ they could not cope with the hunters.