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French theme park uses crows to pick up litter

Litter - Level 4

A theme park in France started a new and environmentally-friendly way to deal with litter. It has trained six rooks to pick up rubbish. Rooks are members of the crow family. The birds have been trained to pick up cigarette ends, paper and other things thrown on the ground. The birds pick up the litter and put it in a trash can. This gives the crows food as a reward. The more litter the birds put in the trash, the more food they get.

The head of the park gave several reasons why it is using the crows. He said: "The goal is not just to clean up...but also to demonstrate that nature itself can teach us to take care of the environment." Crows are sociable and intelligent. They may be as smart as a seven-year-old child. The theme park head said: "In an affectionate, supportive atmosphere, they like to communicate with humans and establish a relationship through play." The crows are quick workers. They can fill a bucket with rubbish in less than 45 minutes.

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Litter - Level 5

A theme park in France has started a new and environmentally-friendly way of dealing with litter. It has trained six "intelligent" rooks to pick up rubbish. Rooks are members of the crow family. They are up to 47cm in length. The birds will work at the Puy du Fou theme park in west France. They have been trained to pick up cigarette ends, paper and other things thrown on the ground. The birds pick up the litter and put it into a special trash can. This delivers bird food as a reward. The more litter the birds put in the trash can, the more food they get.

The head of the theme park explained why it is using the crows. He said there were several reasons. He said: "The goal is not just to clean up...but also to demonstrate that nature itself can teach us to take care of the environment." Crows are very sociable and intelligent birds. They may be as smart as a seven-year-old child. The theme park head said: "In an affectionate, supportive atmosphere, they like to communicate with humans and establish a relationship through play." The crows are quick workers. They can fill a bucket with rubbish in less than 45 minutes.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Litter - Level 6

A theme park in France has established a novel and environmentally-friendly way of keeping its grounds free of litter. It has selected and trained six "intelligent" rooks to pick up rubbish and keep the park clean. Rooks are members of the crow family and are up to 47cm in length. The clever birds will be put to work at the Puy du Fou theme park in the west of France. They have been trained to pick up cigarette ends, paper and other things people throw on the ground. The birds pick up the litter and deposit it into a special trash can, which then delivers some bird feed as a reward. The more litter the birds put in the trash can, the more food they get.

The head of the theme park, Nicolas de Villiers, explained the rationale of using the crows to the AFP news agency. He said there were several reasons for deploying the crows. He said: "The goal is not just to clean up, because the visitors are generally careful to keep things clean, but also to demonstrate that nature itself can teach us to take care of the environment." Crows are highly sociable and intelligent birds. Some biologists say they are as smart as a seven-year-old child. Mr De Villiers said: "In an affectionate, supportive atmosphere, they like to communicate with humans and establish a relationship through play." The crows are speedy workers and can fill a bucket with rubbish in less than 45 minutes.

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson