Lovebirds find a new home at Wayne Newton estate
To those who know much about Wayne Newton, it won't come as a surprise to hear that the longtime Las Vegas performer adopted 200 displaced lovebirds on Thursday.
"People have actually dropped their animals over the wall, hearing it's an animal sanctuary -- especially bunnies after Easter," said Newton's spokeswoman and sister-in-law, Tricia McCrone, while standing in front of a newly constructed cage filled with the small, monogamous parrots.
Newton was out of town for the birds' short move from a Pahrump home.
The former owners let them freely roam their house but voluntarily decided -- as part of Animal Planet's documentary series "Confessions: Animal Hoarding" -- to let them go.
But who could care for so many birds?
The answer was simple and nearby.
"Birds are definitely Wayne's thing, hence why so many," said Jasmine Bugbee, who takes care of the 100 peacocks, five penguins and another 50 birds -- parrots, cockatoos, doves, parakeets and ringnecks -- on the Pecos Road property. "And a lot of swans."
About 75 types of birds grace the grounds. But Newton isn't just fond of the feathered.
Newton has his own staff of veterinarians for the four wallabies, a pair of sloths and 54 horses on the 42 acres of Casa de Shenandoah.
Predictably, Newton didn't need much persuading from Animal Planet to accommodate 200 more birds, McCrone said. It will just add to his zoo, which can be seen by the public when Newton opens the golden gates of his estate at the end of the year.
If you can't wait until then, the Animal Planet is airing this episode of "Animal Hoarding" on Aug. 12.
Contact reporter Trevon Milliard at tmilliard@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.
