Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre

Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre Kaarakin is a not-for-profit organisation specialising in the rescue, rehabilitation and release of threatened Black Cockatoos! Finally comes the release day.
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We are almost entirely volunteer run with over 170 volunteers and just 3 part time staff. We have a large 41 acre bushland site we use to rehabilitate threatened and endangered black cockatoos from all over the south west of Western Australia. We rescue wild black cockatoos in distress – often having been shot, hit by cars, suffering from disease, severe weather events or as displaced as juveniles

. All black cockatoos are initially taken to Perth Zoo for assessment and treatment before coming back to us for intensive care by our dedicated volunteers. After their treatment, our aim is always to release them back to where they belong. Candidates for release are then placed in our world renowned rehabilitation program where they will spent the next few months to a few years. Building strength back up and learning all the vital skills they will need to survive in the wild. We commonly have over 200 black cockatoos in our care at any one time in our numerous large aviaries, which can reach lengths of 64m. The cockatoos are given a unique leg band, are transported to a safe area with plentiful food, water and shelter and are given their second chance at freedom! Back out into the wild where they belong. We always release them as a flock and into a wild flock, where their wild friends openly welcome them into their flock! Please note: We are not open to the public, however do offer private tours & encounters by prior arrangement. Please check with our Education Officer ahead of planning a visit or inquire through our website.

Remember the young red tail nestling born from two hand raised orphan parents? Well look at it now! 😍This chick was only...
15/06/2026

Remember the young red tail nestling born from two hand raised orphan parents? Well look at it now! 😍

This chick was only possible due to the parents being given a second chance at life after being rescued as orphans. They were then carefully hand raised and spent years in rehab learning the skills needed to survive indecently in the wild.

After successfully fledging the young cockatoo is spending lots of time exploring the big wide world, learning how to manipulate different foods while waiting to be fed by mum and dad nearby 🥰

It’s always amazing to see the rescued and rehabilitated black cockatoos thriving and breeding post release! Each new chick is of vital importance in the mission

This is only possible through public support, our amazing volunteers and staff and the team at Perth Zoo! So thank you all ♥️🖤♥️🖤

RELEASE READY: It looks like early next week we may finally be getting a break in the weather after postponing our last ...
12/06/2026

RELEASE READY:

It looks like early next week we may finally be getting a break in the weather after postponing our last two releases due to weather. If all goes well we should see release number FOUR, FIVE and SIX of 2026! With 43 Vulnerable Forest red tails to be released back into the wild! 😍

These cockatoos have gone through the various stages of rehab together as seperate flocks. This is instrumental in building up their flock socialisation and maintaining social bonds. Forest Red tails have much smaller flocks than Carnabys, usually consisting of family groups. Therefore it can be more tricky to find suitable release sites, as finding an area with flocks already and also not over saturating an area can be tricky! 😵‍💫

The flocks move between seasons, between years and with changing resources. Some cockatoos we’ve tracked have gone over 400km in a year! Just because they’re there one week does not mean they will be the next! So in the weeks up to release we spend a great deal of time following the wild flocks. Luckily, we have found three different and suitable release locations for each flock ♥️🖤

Each red tail will eat 100 gumnuts a day each! So if we are releasing 15, that’s 1500 gumnuts that flock needs to find a day! So prior to each release we spend lots of time carefully following where wild flocks are so we can find and choose a suitable release site with enough food. Where the cockatoos are and what they’re eating tells us alot and helps inform us of what foods to feed our flocks to get them prepared for release! 🌱

At the moment, most of the red tails are spending lots of time in the Jarrah and Coastal Blackbutt (pictured) feeding. While they are famous for eating the large gumnuts of the Marri tree, most of the nuts you currently see are still months away from ripening! So we either have to find last years nuts (hidden under the foliage of this years nuts) or we risk simply picking unripe nuts which lack any seeds and just take away their wild food for later in the year. So we have been predominantly collecting as much Jarrah and Blackbutt as we can so our flocks have the smoothest transition back to the wild as possible!

Every black cockatoo that arrives at Kaarakin has a story.Some have been injured. Some have been orphaned. Others have b...
10/06/2026

Every black cockatoo that arrives at Kaarakin has a story.

Some have been injured. Some have been orphaned. Others have been displaced as habitat continues to disappear.

But every bird has the same goal: to return to the wild.

This EOFY, you can help make that journey possible. Your donation supports the rescue, rehabilitation and release of endangered black cockatoos across Western Australia.

Together, we can help more birds spread their wings again.

Donate today via the link in our comments.

10/06/2026

Ollie showing off some of his best flirting moves 😍 but not so impressed when he’s called the wrong name accidently 🤣

♥️🖤♥️🖤

On Friday Kaarakin's Volunteer Co-Ordinator and Site Manager; Kloe, caught up with the WA Wildlife Team💗Kaarakin is alwa...
09/06/2026

On Friday Kaarakin's Volunteer Co-Ordinator and Site Manager; Kloe, caught up with the WA Wildlife Team💗

Kaarakin is always looking for opportunities to collaborate and partner with organizations that put conservation and wildlife welfare first!

Following discussions around some exciting opportunities for future collaboration, the amazing WA Wildlife Team gave Kloe a tour of their fantastic Bibra Lake facilities...highlighting all the wonderful work their very dedicated Team does each day.

As you can see Kloe was super excited to get a cuddle from a beautiful, resident ringtail possum! As Kloe said, this is an experience that she won't forget, having never gotten up close and personal with this particular native animal before. HUGE thanks to the WA Wildlife Team!!

Watch this space to hear more about Kaarakin and WA Wildlife collaborations in the coming days!!

Introducing WRAGWA.The Wildlife Rehabilitation Advisory Group of Western Australia (WRAGWA) is a collaborative alliance ...
09/06/2026

Introducing WRAGWA.

The Wildlife Rehabilitation Advisory Group of Western Australia (WRAGWA) is a collaborative alliance of Western Australia’s leading wildlife rehabilitation organisations.

Together, our member organisations care for more than 80% of the sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife admitted for rehabilitation across the state each year. We also support wildlife rescue, conservation, education, research and emergency response programs that benefit both wildlife and the communities that care about them.

WRAGWA was established to strengthen the wildlife rehabilitation sector through collaboration, advocacy, knowledge sharing and the promotion of best-practice wildlife rehabilitation. By working together, we can address sector-wide challenges, improve outcomes for wildlife and build a stronger, more sustainable future for wildlife rehabilitation in Western Australia.

Wildlife rehabilitation plays a vital role in animal welfare, conservation, community education and scientific research. Every year, tens of thousands of native animals receive care thanks to the dedication of wildlife rehabilitators, veterinary professionals, volunteers and supporters across our state.

If you are a wildlife rehabilitator and would like to learn more about how you can collaborate with WRAGWA and help strengthen the wildlife rehabilitation sector, we encourage you to visit our website for more information on Membership and Associate Membership.

Visit www.wragwa.org to learn more about our member organisations, our work and our vision for the future of wildlife rehabilitation and conservation in Western Australia.

Together, we can achieve more for wildlife.

LOOK CLOSELY 👀:This forest red-tailed black cockatoo female has been fitted with a leg band. This is because she was res...
08/06/2026

LOOK CLOSELY 👀:

This forest red-tailed black cockatoo female has been fitted with a leg band. This is because she was rescued, rehabilitated and released by us! 😍

This beautiful girl was rescued as an orphan in December 2020 and required hand rearing. Hand rearing is always a challenging job as it requires complete professionalism in ensuring the cockatoos do not imprint with humans so that they are able to be released back into the wild successfully.🐣

She spent nearly 2.5years with us, learning all the skills needed to survive independently in the wild! Skills usually taught to them by their parents in their first 18-24hr months with them! 🦜

In March 2023 she was released as part of a flock in Bedfordale. This week she has been spotted again over 3 years later in Bentley! 🖤♥️

Not only is she thriving, but she is also with a partner in the flock! Truly enjoying her second chance at freedom and helping to produce more little black cockatoos to help 😍🥰

This is one of the photos taken of her with her partner feeding in Coastal Blackbutt 🌱

We receive no government funding to do our work and rely on public support and donations. To support us supporting them you can give a tax deductible donation below ♥️🖤

Donate 💰: https://blackcockatoorecovery.com/take-action/donate/

📸 Harry Harrison

04/06/2026

Some ASMR of our beautiful resident female forest red-tailed black cockatoo Squeek enjoying some Jarrah nuts curiosity of last weekends storm! 🌱 🦜

It’s always impressive to see how such a big beak can be so dexterous to removed the smallest seeds 😍

03/06/2026

Yeti - one of our resident yellow tail black cockatoos enjoying some Jarrah nuts brought down in the recent storm 😍

Yeti was a rescued orphan over in NSW and unfortunately was deemed unreleasable due to being too imprinted. Hearing he needed a home in captivity we flew Yeti across country to have a forever home with us at our sanctuary here in WA.

Yeti now acts as an ambassador for his East coast mates with his partner Opal 🦜 ❤️

💛🖤💛🖤

BANDING DAY: FIFTY SIX COCKATOOSBusy day at the Centre today as we were joined by Peter Mawson and Rick Dawson for some ...
29/05/2026

BANDING DAY: FIFTY SIX COCKATOOS

Busy day at the Centre today as we were joined by Peter Mawson and Rick Dawson for some final health checks of next release flocks and for banding.

Each cockatoo is fitted with a unique leg band prior to release which helps see success rate and track birds movements if seen again.

This was a good day as another 56 Threatened black cockatoos passed their final check before release in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out the next few weeks as we have at least 4 releases coming which will take us to 7 releases this year so far and just shy of 100 cockatoos released!

Sadly there will still be close to 150 cockatoos still in care with us after these 56 leave. But we will always be there for them and continue to help and hopefully see them out later in the year.

Address

322 Mills Road East, Martin
Perth, WA
6110

Telephone

+61893902288

Website

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