Mystery of African grey parrot on Dublin airport runway solved
Hugo was spotted by a firefighter during a routine inspection
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.An African grey parrot that was found on the main runway at Dublin Airport has been reunited with its owner after a social media campaign.
Hugo was spotted wandering around during a routine inspection by firefighter.
After she was rescued, Dublin Airport’s official Twitter account posted a picture of the parrot in an attempt to find the owner.
After several false alarms, the mystery was solved when the Lidl supermarket chain noticed a "Missing Parrot" poster in one its stores.
"So we called the number to check and it's his parrot," their account tweeted to Dublin Airport.
The parrot belonged to Lubomir Michna who lives in Dublin but is originally from Slovakia.
He was able to prove the parrot was his by getting Hugo to repeat some of the Slovak sayings he had taught her.
He said Hugo had escaped after a door was accidentally left open at his house.
He made the posters after discovering the bird was missing.
Dan Donoher, who looked after Hugo after she was rescued, said he had no doubts the parrot was with her rightful owner.
"As soon as the carrier opened, Hugo jumped onto Lubomir's arm and cuddled into his neck," he told the BBC. "You could see they have a really close bond, it was lovely."
The African grey parrot can live for up to 60 years and has the ability to mimic human speech.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments