WOW a day just for me! Don’t know who chose September 13 when my birthday is on March 11, but I’ll take it! 

Hi, my name is Peanut, and I am the Akron Zoo’s one and only scarlet macaw! Since today is National Peanut Day, let me tell you a little about myself. First things first, I am an animal ambassador at the Akron Zoo. I love living here because I get so much love and attention, both from our staff and guests. As an animal ambassador, I get to meet and educate many Akron Zoo guests during their visit. I also enjoy going for rides in our Zoomobile with my Akron Zoo friends, like Education Todd and Jenn, who love to show me off to students and adults throughout Summit County!

I first moved to the Akron Zoo in 2015. Before that, I lived in the National Aviary in Pittsburgh. It was fun there, since there were lots of noisy birds, but Pittsburgh is also unfortunately the home of the Pittsburgh STEELERS! Whoops, I mean Pittsburgh STINKERS! I was very excited to move to Northeast Ohio. GO BROWNS!

Let me tell you about a typical Peanut day. Each morning I wake up to the sounds of many of my animal friends. Chi Chi and Angel, my parrot friends, are often the first ones to make it known that they are awake. Angel frequently wakes everyone else up by being super noisy, while Chi Chi offers her usual greeting: “hello!” A few other friends I live with include Drake the duck, Ande the guinea pig, and Kristoff and Olaf the furry Chinchillas, who are also all animal ambassadors. I am the most excited, however, when my human friends say good morning to me!

Each morning, my Akron Zoo education friends will weigh me and check me out, to make sure I’m in tiptop shape. Once I receive my clean bill of health, I get to watch TV or listen to music! Since I am 17 years old now, I prefer to listen to today’s top ten! After that, I usually get a nice warm mist bath and (of course) a peanut to snack on. Then, my education friends give me a fun activity they like to call “enrichment.” Enrichment is always different and super exciting! It can include trying new foods, playing with new toys, learning new problems (just like in school), practicing my dancing and waving, or even painting with a paintbrush! I really enjoy my enrichment time.

Some days, I also get to participate in education programs. My education friends say to me “Peanut, it’s time to make some dreams come true while helping our planet!” Sometimes this means I will be meeting zoo guests during an on-site program. Other times it means we are taking a Zoomobile some place new. During these programs, my friends talk about how amazing I am (and of course, I am amazing!). However, they also talk about my parrot friends in the rainforests and how parrots are an endangered species due to loss of habitat, illegal pet trade and poaching. They also tell our zoo visitors and schools that they can help my friends in the rainforest because of ME! They say, “Because you met and learned about Peanut, you can help her friends in the rainforest - here’s how.”

That’s right! Because of me, you can help my rainforest friends through an Akron Zoo conservation program called “Cans for Corridors.” All you have to do to participate is collect aluminum cans and drop them off at the Cans for Corridors station in the zoo’s “C” parking lot.

For every 25-30 cans we collect, Akron Zoo conservationists are able to plant one tree in the rainforest. When everyone does this simple action, we can plant a whole tree corridor (or pathway) so all my rainforest friends can move about freely in the rainforest.

I am super excited it is National Peanut Day and that you got to learn a little about me “PEANUT” the scarlet macaw! I hope you visit me and all of my Akron Zoo friends soon!

PS: Don’t forget to drop off your aluminum cans to plant trees in the rainforest. Happy National “PEANUT” Day!