14 Dec Sweetie – A Carnaby’s Tail
Sweetie is a Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo who hatched in a nesting box on a private property in the Perth hills, October 2013. About a year later a passer-by in Stratton found Sweetie injured and took him to Perth Zoo with a gunshot wound to the head. He was admitted to Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre in October 2014 (a shotgun pellet still lodged behind his left eye).
Sweetie spent 8 months in rehabilitation at Kaarakin, starting in the clinic area where he was provided with a care program set by Perth Zoo. He progressed through rehabilitation on a recovery protocol to assist in him gaining weight and regaining his strength so that he could fly long distances once released. Volunteers provided all of this care whilst ensuring that he maintained his wild behaviours. Sweetie was released at a known Carnaby’s roost site in Kensington in June 2015.
A few years later Sweetie and his mate (Pie) were sighted in the Perth Hills area where he was born. In September 2019, Sweetie was seen again with his mate and their daughter. This is the first known record of a rehabilitated wild cockatoo successfully breeding. It also shows the resilience of these birds to recover from such a significant life-threatening injury.