CAMERA, AN ANIMAL AMBUSH, A PARROT PICKS A MAN TO PESTER OUTSIDE A CAFE IN WEST PALM BEACH, BUT AS MORNING ANCHOR STEVEN GRAVES EXPLAINS, THIS LED TO AN UNLIKELY FRIENDSHIP. SOME WOULD CALL IT FATE. YOU ARE LOOKING AT DAVE AND HIS FRIEND PAM JUST WALKING THIS WAY, MINDING OUR OWN BUSINESS IN LATE APRIL, A WALK OUTSIDE COASTAL CAFE IN WEST PALM BEACH. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT WAS OVER THERE AT ALL. TURNED INTO A STRIKING DISCOVERY. I FIRST I THOUGHT I WAS BEING HIT BY A BAT OR A BAT WAS ON ME, BUT THE PECK ON HIS NECK WAS NOT A BAT. PAM YELLED OUT, STOP, TOP! IT’S IT’S A LOVE BIRD! AND LOVING IT WAS IT NOT ONLY TOOK A LIKING TO PAM AND DAVE, BUT ALSO APRIL, THE CO-OWNER OF COASTAL CAVA. HE’S VERY FRIENDLY, SO HE’LL GO ON TO ANYBODY’S SHOULDER AND HANG WITH THEM. APRIL SAYS. THE BIRD, NAMED MAHI AFTER THE COLORFUL FISH, IS HELPING SOOTHE VETERANS HERE WHO HAVE PTSD, PROVIDING A LOT OF LOVE AND PERSONALITY. HE IS IS, UM, OBVIOUSLY BE DOMESTICATED EATING YOUR HAIR RIGHT NOW. YEAH, YEAH, PROBABLY. SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT. AND TURNS OUT HE PICKED THE RIGHT PERSON. PAM HAS TWO LOVE BIRDS OF HER OWN. SHE TOOK MAHI, WHO APPEARED TO HAVE TWO BROKEN CLAWS IN FOR SOME COMPANY. I’VE SEEN HER TWO BIRDS, ONE WITHOUT THE OTHER, JUST. THAT’S WHY I KNOW THIS ONE’S PROBABLY GOT A MATE SOMEWHERE. AND FROM LOST POSTS WE OFTEN SEE ON SOCIAL MEDIA OF OTHER BIRDS LOOKING FOR HOMES, INCLUDING THIS PALM BEACH, ZEU’S BELOVED LORIKEET STILL MISSING. WE’RE LIKE, OKAY, NOW WE GOT A BIRD. IT SEEMS LIKE THIS PESKY PARROT HAS A NEW LOVING NEST OF HIS OWN IN WEST PALM BEACH, STEVEN GRAVES WPBF 25 NEWS. AND YOU KNOW NOW MAHI HAS SORT OF BECOME A MASCOT AT COASTAL CAVA. HE IS STAYING THERE FULL TIME. WORKERS HOPE TO FIND T
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WATCH: Parrot ambushes man, becomes pet of West Palm Beach cafe owners
Steven Graves
An animal ambush was caught on camera outside of a West Palm Beach cafe, and what happened next, the cafe owners say, could only be fate. Surveillance video captured how it started; Dave and his friend, Pam, walked down a sidewalk in April right outside Coastal Kava Cafe off Military Trail. "Just walking this way, minding our own business,” said Dave. All of a sudden, Dave felt a peck on his neck. Video showed him squirming and patting the annoyance away. "At first, it felt like I was being hit by a bat! A bat was on me!” Dave said.Dave said Pam yelled at him as he swatted: "Stop! Stop! It's a lovebird!”It immediately sat on Dave’s shoulder and took a liking to the co-owner of Coastal Kava, April. "He's very friendly. He'll go on anybody's shoulder and hang with them,” she said.April named the bird “Mahi” which is inspired by the bird’s bright, beautiful colors, similar to the fish. "He is ... obviously domesticated,” said April. The ironic part, April said, is that Pam owns two lovebirds of her own and briefly took Mahi in to care for him. "I've seen her two birds ... one without the other, just,” said Dave. “That's why I know this one probably has a mate somewhere."Mahi is also helping soothe and comfort veterans who frequent the cafe and struggle with PTSD, April said. The bird is currently a sort of mascot of Coastal Kava for now. April said she hopes to find the original owner of Mahi, but if no one claims him she said she is more than ready to keep him around.“We're like, 'OK, we have a bird!’” she laughed.Top headlines:Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25 Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. —
An animal ambush was caught on camera outside of a West Palm Beach cafe, and what happened next, the cafe owners say, could only be fate.
Surveillance video captured how it started; Dave and his friend, Pam, walked down a sidewalk in April right outside Coastal Kava Cafe off Military Trail.
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"Just walking this way, minding our own business,” said Dave.
All of a sudden, Dave felt a peck on his neck. Video showed him squirming and patting the annoyance away.
"At first, it felt like I was being hit by a bat! A bat was on me!” Dave said.
Dave said Pam yelled at him as he swatted: "Stop! Stop! It's a lovebird!”
It immediately sat on Dave’s shoulder and took a liking to the co-owner of Coastal Kava, April.
"He's very friendly. He'll go on anybody's shoulder and hang with them,” she said.
April named the bird “Mahi” which is inspired by the bird’s bright, beautiful colors, similar to the fish.
"He is ... obviously domesticated,” said April.
The ironic part, April said, is that Pam owns two lovebirds of her own and briefly took Mahi in to care for him.
"I've seen her two birds ... one without the other, just,” said Dave. “That's why I know this one probably has a mate somewhere."
Mahi is also helping soothe and comfort veterans who frequent the cafe and struggle with PTSD, April said.
The bird is currently a sort of mascot of Coastal Kava for now.
April said she hopes to find the original owner of Mahi, but if no one claims him she said she is more than ready to keep him around.
“We're like, 'OK, we have a bird!’” she laughed.
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Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
