In 2002, 32 years after Pippi in the South Seas, Douglas garnered much attention in the Swedish press when authorities were considering putting him to death because his owner did not have the proper paperwork.

A petition pleading for Douglas's life received over 50,000 signatures, including that of actress Inger Nilsson, who played Pippi in the 1970 movie.

[1][2] In 2005, Douglas was moved to a small tropical zoo in Malmö where he lived with a female blue-and-yellow macaw called Gojan.

[3] With the authorities unwilling to grant an exception, Madsen turned to the press and soon received more than 100 offers for a new home for Douglas and Gojan.

[1][2][5] After Gojan died at the age of 45 in September 2016, the zoo paired Douglas with Rubin,[6] a 22-year-old scarlet macaw that arrived in October.