Rooks trained to pick up cigarette butts

Six specially-trained rooks have been picking up cigarette butts at the Puy du Fou theme park in the Vendée.

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Published Tuesday 28 August 2018 - 15:57 Modified Tuesday 28 August 2018 - 15:57

Park president Nicolas de Villiers said the idea came from one of their falconers, Christophe Gaborit, because the birds are intelligent and “given a conducive environment, like to communicate with humans and establish a playful relationship”.

Mr Gaborit invented a box which delivers a crunchy snack when the rook places a butt inside. “The birds are very fast, they can fill a bucket in less than three-quarters of an hour,” he told France Info.