Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre is a specialised rehabilitation centre for Western Australia’s native black cockatoos – the Forest Red-Tailed Black Cockatoo, the Carnaby’s Black Cockatoo and the Baudin’s Black Cockatoo.


Black Cockatoo Emergency Service

We have a dedicated black cockatoo rescue service operated by volunteers. If you spot a black cockatoo in distress in Perth or surrounding suburbs, please get in touch with us on (08) 9390 2288 during work hours or 0448 046 202 after hours. Please leave a voicemail if the call is unanswered and we will get back to you as soon as possible. Please make sure to include details of the location and condition of the cockatoo.

What to do if you have found an injured or sick black cockatoo?

You can assist by keeping the black cockatoo secured until one of our volunteers is available to pick it up. Please call immediately. It is important to get the cockatoo to a qualified person as soon as possible, either a local vet or wildlife rehabilitation center. We will then be able to collect the patient from them.

Vets cannot refuse to take in native wildlife from you and will not charge you for bringing the cockatoo to them. They do not just euthanise any injured wildlife, they will pass them on to qualified wildlife rehabilitation centers who will do everything possible to save the animal.

  • Use a large towel to cover the cockatoo. Please be careful of their powerful beak!
  • If you can pick up the cockatoo using a thick towel, please place in a box and store in a warm quiet place.
  • Alternatively, a washing basket or milk crate can be placed over the injured cockatoo. Please ensure it’s in the shade if it’s a hot day and safe from other animals.
  • Do not feed or offer water to the cockatoo. If you try to syringe feed the cockatoo water and it is vocalising at you, you risk injecting water into the airway which can kill the cockatoo. Weak cockatoos can also fall over and drown in water bowls accidently.

Please only attempt to rescue the black cockatoo if it is safe for you to do so.

Delays can be fatal for the black cockatoo! Please don’t keep the bird for a few hours or days before calling for help. This will compromise their chances of survival or their chances of being released back into the wild!

If you’re able to place the bird into a box, taking it to the vet is appropriate. Vets can stabilise the cockatoo before calling Kaarakin. This makes it easier for the black cockatoo.

Carnaby recovering after being shot

Call Kaarakin on 9390 2288
or Louise (Vet Nurse) on 0448 046 202.

Common injuries for black cockatoos in Perth and surrounds

In Perth and surrounding suburbs, the most common cause for injuries are:

  • Vehicle strikes
  • Raven attacks
  • Illegal shooting
  • CHiPs (Cockatoo Hindlimb Paralysis Syndrome)

Other injuries mostly involve confrontations between humans and cockatoos. We have taken black cockatoos into care as they had been hit by a golf ball or even caught up in a kite string.

Learn more about black cockatoo threats.

What happens to the black cockatoos who can be saved?

Learn more about the rehabilitation process of black cockatoos who are brought to Kaarakin for care and rehabilitation:


You can learn more about the rescue and rehabilitation process.

Support our rescue and rehabilitation centre

Did you know that our volunteers can be out on the road as far north as Lancelin and as far South as Donnybrook? A total of around 600kms is travelled per week to rescue over 250 black cockatoos per year!

There are many ways to assist us and the plight of the black cockatoos! Visit this page to find ideas on how you can contribute to save the endangered black cockatoos of Western Australia.

Juvenile Forest Red Tailed Black Cockatoo in a hospital cage.