Perth Zoo’s Black Cockatoo
conservation program
Perth Zoo’s Black Cockatoo conservation program includes rehabilitation and community education. The Zoo works with the Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) and others on cockatoo conservation.
Rehabilitation
Each year, Perth Zoo veterinary staff provide care to an increasing number of sick and injured wild black cockatoos as part of an ongoing rehabilitation program. The birds are brought in by DEC for assessment and treatment.
The species treated include Carnaby’s Cockatoos, Baudin’s White-tailed Black Cockatoos and Forest and Inland Red-tailed Black Cockatoos. These birds are of considerable conservation significance. The plight of the black cockatoo species is very concerning. The threats to black cockatoos include large scale habitat clearing, a decrease in nest hollow availability, poaching of chicks and eggs from nests, and tree diseases such as dieback.
 Perth Zoo’s rehabilitation program for sick and injured wild cockatoos supports the work of the WA Cockatoo Recovery Team. Birds successfully rehabilitated are returned to DEC for release into the wild where possible or to join breeding programs.
Through their involvement with the cockatoo rehabilitation effort, Perth Zoo veterinarians and nurses have developed highly specialised hospitalisation, medicine and surgery regimes for these species. The Zoo’s veterinary staff have a level of experience with the veterinary care of these species which is unique, since no other single organisation receives such a large number of these cases.
The veterinary staff are responsible for first aid, clinical care, assessment of prognosis, hospitalisation and treatment for the duration of the bird’s illness/injury. They also assist DEC in health assessments, identification of birds, follow-up care and necropsies on all species of cockatoo when required. The Zoo’s Veterinary Department then coordinates with DEC to send the birds onto wildlife rehabilitators for release back into the wild where possible or to join breeding programs.
On arrival at the Zoo, most birds are in poor body condition. They receive a full physical examination, followed by an intensive care period to treat them for shock and life-threatening injuries. Intensive care usually involves fluid therapy, antibiotic and anti-inflammatory medication, and often supplementary feeding via crop tube. Once birds are well enough, they are anaesthetised for X-rays, blood sampling and microchipping. Many of the cockatoos seen by the Zoo’s veterinary department have been hit by cars or have gunshot injuries. Some of the birds have fractures which require bandaging or surgical repair using pins and other fixator devices. Most cockatoos spend 1-2 weeks in hospital but the complicated cases may require over a month of intensive treatment.
Perth Zoo veterinary staff assessed and treated 144 Black Cockatoos in 2009-10. Of these, 79 have been in, or are still in, rehabilitation in preparation for their release, 14 were dead on arrival and 51 were euthanased as a result of their injuries.
 Community Education
Perth Zoo is helping to raise community awareness on the plight of WA’s Black Cockatoos.
The Black Cockatoo exhibit located in the Zoo’s Australian Bushwalk area includes a range of supporting interpretive facilities providing information about the birds and the threats they face in the wild.
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