Japan parrot beats humans in solving chain puzzle

TOKYO (Reuters Life!) - "Ten", a six-year-old New World parrot, can solve a puzzle consisting of two entangled chains in less than 30 seconds.

It takes humans about an hour.

The female macaw at a botanical garden in suburban Tokyo competes against more than a dozen human visitors every day, but remains undefeated.

"I can't do it! It's impossible!" said eight-year-old Yuto Uotani, after Ten solved the puzzle in a matter of seconds, using her beak and foot.

Other parrots have so far failed to beat Ten's record. Most of them pay no attention to the chain puzzle.

"Ten is having fun while solving, whereas other parrots must learn first to disentangle. That's the difference right there," parrot keeper Daichi Yamanaka told Reuters.

It all started a few months ago when a parrot keeper handed a chain puzzle to the parrot. Ten first fiddled around with it on a passing whim and managed to solve it within a matter of few days.

"I can't believe I lost! This is frustrating!" said 23-year-old visitor Yuka Ishida, who kept trying even after being walloped twice by the parrot.

(Reporting by Chika Osaka)