An unlucky young red tail black cockatoo was handed in from Marri Park Golf Course to Hammond Park Vet just ahead of Christmas 2019. Its beak had been shattered by a golf ball in a terrible accident.
Veterinarian Dr Pete Ricci crafted a brace for its broken beak. This was the first time such a device had been trialled. Within a short time, the youngster was self feeding.
Nicknamed Beaky, he was initially supervised at Perth Zoo, then came to Kaarakin in January 2020 on a careful rehabilitation journey. Once free of the beak brace and in the pre-release aviary, the final step was the gum nut test. This ensures that birds know how to forage for and eat gum nuts and other native foods, and therefore be able to survive in the wild.
On 6 August 2020, fully healed after eight months care, Beaky was released with some others to join a flock in John Forrest National Park. As part of Murdoch University’s research program, Beaky and three others were fitted with trackers to bring further insights into the lives of these local endangered birds.
