Open Post: Hosted By Euli, The Cockatoo Who Helped With A Marriage Proposal

Australia is typically a dependable source of fuckery and carnage from the animal kingdom, and where birds are concerned, you don’t want to mess with a Cassowary. But today there is a story with a happy ending involving an Australian beastie not just engaging with humans, but helping them to get engaged. The feather-assisted romance was planned by Jesse, to charm and coax a lifelong commitment from his girlfriend, Erin, when visiting the Australia Zoo in the Sunshine Coast. It worked!

According to Upworthy:

Jesse took his girlfriend Erin to a bird show at the Australian Zoo last week. (Since Australia has managed to control the pandemic, people are able to do such things. Isn’t that nice?) The bird handler introduced the audience to Euli, a red-tailed black cockatoo, then asked the audience for a volunteer. Erin stood up and waved her arms, and when she was chosen, she assumed she’d gotten lucky.

The bird handler had Erin pull out a five-dollar bill and hold it in her hand with her arm out. Euli, the handler said, would know exactly who to go to since she was holding the money. Sure enough, Euli flew up to Erin, took the bill from her hand, and flew back.

Then the handler said Euli was going to take Erin her “receipt.” The bird flew up, handed Erin a piece of paper. The handler told Erin to open it and read it, and that’s when she got the surprise of her life.

This is the gloopy, romantic, and feathery sweetness we all need right now, but my cynical side can’t help but know this wasn’t truly a surprise to Erin. She flailed her arms around and got chosen to play along with Euli’s retrieval trick when several others in the Crocoseum (this name sparks dread) that day appeared to want to be a part of it when asked by the bird’s handler. That was just for show, right? Everyone was in on it! Plus the seats around the couple were empty, allowing them an uncluttered spotlight.

That said, Erin played her caught-me-by-surprise role perfectly, and it was still a touching scene to behold. The star of the proposal, of course, was the sleek and brainy, red-tailed black cockatoo, Euli, who is a far better listener and master of commands than any of our pets, who just ignore us or look at us like we’re bizarrely talking pieces of furniture when asked to do anything. Euli even snagged five bucks for his trouble. Congrats to Jesse and Erin!

A groom-to-be has taken his marriage proposal to new heights, enlisting the help of @AustraliaZoo. Black cockatoo Euli delivered Erin a special note, during a bird show at the Crocoseum, and as she turned around – Jesse was on one knee. https://t.co/dSgFbiE9NM #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/3hGE9oG1F3

— 7NEWS Sunshine Coast (@7NewsSC) January 14, 2021

Pic: Twitter