Life with Alex is a compelling film about non-human cognition and learning. Follow Alex, the African Grey parrot, and his colleagues: Dr. Irene Pepperberg, lab manager Arlene Levin-Rowe, and their student assistants. Learn about Alex's accomplishments and relationships, which changed forever what we know about how animals think. See never-before-released footage of Alex, in which he uses meaningful human speech to convey how he thought and felt every day.

By the time of his death at age 31, Alex had won the hearts of millions of fans around the world, having become as an ambassador for all creatures with whom we share this planet.

Join us as Life with Alex offers a window into the life and mind of this wondrous bird.

Alex

Photo: Jenny Pegg

One of the most famous African Grey parrots in history, Alex pioneered new avenues in avian intelligence. He possessed more than 100 vocal labels for different objects, actions, and colors, and could identify certain objects by their particular material. He could count object sets up to the total number six and was working on seven and eight. Alex exhibited math skills that were considered advanced in animal intelligence, developing his own ‘zero-like’ concept in addition to being able to infer the connection between written numerals, objects sets, and the vocalization of the number. Alex was learning to read the sounds of various letters and had a concept of phonemes, the sounds that make up words.

Alex's personality was very evident in his everyday life. He was ‘in charge’ of his home and relished ordering ‘his’ humans to perform various tasks for him. He also acted as a coach and cheerleader to his fellow birds, Wart and Griffin, alternately encouraging or admonishing them during their lessons.

Purchased from a pet store at the age of 12-13 months in June of 1977, Alex came from humble beginnings. His accomplishments proved that African Grey parrots have an intelligence far beyond what was thought before his decades-long work with Dr. Pepperberg. On September 6, 2007, at the age of 31, Alex passed away of a sudden heart arrhythmia.

He will always be missed.