Are Your Hazard Lights Flashing?
Many of our black cockatoos face a life threatening hazard: that of coming to grief on the side of the roads. With increasing loss of habitat, they are often seen feeding and drinking on the side of the road, in the midst of traffic. Because they are such a big bird, they face into and take off into the wind – which sometimes means they fly into traffic instead of away from it.
Winter Warning Campaign
Let’s have a campaign of warning other drivers that the birds are there and get them to slow down as they go by.
Winter is coming! It is a life threatening hazard in more than the Game Of Thrones!
As winter approaches, it gets light later, and dark earlier. If you see the cockatoos on the side of the road ahead of you, put your hazard warning lights on.
As you approach the group of birds, slow down a little. This will alert drivers ahead and behind who are approaching the group of birds to be mindful of them and take care to watch out for them flying off
Cockatoo carers want those injured birds
One Black Cockatoo carer wrote this on her Facebook page:
Crap, this is what I hate…well meaning rescuer keeps a black cocky for over a week after it is hit by a car “It had a bad head wound but its come good, I think its better that you release it. It’s been in a small cage but I think it can fly, it flutters about when other birds come near it”.
F#*K…in what state will this bird come to me in tomorrow morning? In person will she listen to me when I say the best chance a bird has at survival depends not only on severity of injury, but also on how quickly it comes to a qualified carer who can get it to the zoo?
Please let this be a healthy bird, minor injuries that the zoo find have healed correctly, meaning release, not over a week old fractures that are now infected and already healing incorrectly with internal bleeding and a suffering Black Cockatoo.
‘( I just can’t cope with more of that….and having to deal with a well meaning person who has prolonged the suffering of an animal.)”
What is Kaarakin’s experience?
Kaarakin has found that people hang onto the birds until they think that it’s about to die. Then panic! Call the cockatoo rescue people who drop everything to go and pick it up and run it to the zoo, just for it to be euthanized.
They did a trip out to Gidgegannup just like that. The woman had held onto this poor bird for about a week. She was also very hazy about where it had been found.
3 hour round trip for a poor bird that ended up being euthanized. God knows how much pain and stress that bird had gone through in the meantime. She had it in a cage, uncovered, out near the front of the house, by the drive.
What is Kaarakin’s success?
Kaarakin has a long history of success in releasing rescued and rehabilitated black cockatoos back into the bush, as healthy free birds. Not all the stories are sad – many have very happy endings, even if some birds recover from their injuries, but cannot be released.
When we first wrote this in July 2012, there had been a recent release.
NINE Carnaby’s black cockatoos that had passed through Louise Hopper’s loving hands on their way through rehabilitation at Kaarakin were about to fly free.
To them, we said “Good luck, it’s been an absolute pleasure.
To the bonded couple….we hope you find a nest hollow suitable for you and your future chick.
To all the Kaarakin volunteers…be proud and enjoy the moment!”
Supporting the Kaarakin Volunteers
Since then, many more black cockatoos have been successfully returned to the wild. At Stories My Nana Tells, we are passionate about black cockatoos. (just putting that out there, in case you hadn’t noticed!)
You can support Kaarakin through their website at Kaarakin Cockatoo Conservation Centre or contact them on Facebook Kaarakin on Facebook
Learn more about our Black Cockatoos
If you want to know more about our Black Cockatoos, we recommend Hey Dude! Who Moved My Gumnuts? as a very well written, informative book for families and educators. CLICK HERE: Hey Dude!
Kaarakin has a long history of success in releasing rescued and rehabilitated black cockatoos back into the bush, as healthy free birds. Not all the stories are sad – many have very happy endings, even if some birds recover from their injuries, but cannot be released.
The zoo vets need to improve their public relations or DPaW needs to ungag them so they can talk to the public directly. People want to know about the reason for euthanasia of a cockatoo they rush in battling peak hour traffic , ring to let it be known to wildlife rescue that the bird is being brought in …and then find out the vet isn’t even there on arrival as it is 30 mins before the place opens for work.
Also there should be vets in the suburbs who are qualified to deal with injured endangered cockatoos so valuable time is not wasted… or initial resus could begin at least.
It maybe the Zoo is between a rock and a hard place, Nathalie. DPaW own all the black cockatoos, because of their endangered status. So, the Zoo is actually in a caretaker mode, as I understand it. I don’t know the politics behind the Zoo being the only place authorised to deal with injured birds, because I know even Kaarakin has to take any birds they get to the Zoo first. I can understand the frustration and sorrow, when you have rescued a bird and then meet a blank wall when you want to know what has happened to it.
You can take a black cockatoo to any vet in the suburbs and kaarakin will pick up from there and transport to the zoo. Murdoch vet emergency department is open 24hrs.
Thank you for that advice Louise. I know how hard you, Kaarakin, and the Zoo, along with many volunteers work for our Black Cockatoos.