Last weekend I attended my first Tour Day at the Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Conservation Centre and I must say it was amazing and worth every bit of the low $15 booking fee 😃

Tour Day, KaarakinBlack Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Tour Day, KaarakinBlack Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia

Located in the Banyowla Regional Park in the Perth Hills on a former tourism wildlife park site their purpose is to protect and rehabilitate our native wild black cockatoo species here in Western Australia.

As the tour begins we are given an introduction to the organisation, the work they do and how they are working to restore the site to it’s original native state along with several other revegetation projects in WA.

First stop is the Kangaroo enclosure containing a community of Red & Western Grey Kangaroos left over from the old wildlife park. Sadly these Kangaroos have been isolated for decades, they are suffering from inbreeding and cannot be released back into the wild so they are cared for as best as possible.

Kangaroos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Kangaroos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia

Next came the Emu enclosure, where we found that our Tour Guide had a strangely close relationship with the resident Emu’s. Personally I don’t think I’d trust getting up close & personal with an Emu!

Emu, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Emu, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia

Finally we arrived at the Dingo enclosure, something I was really looking forward to and I wasn’t disappointed.

On the way into the Dingo enclosure is an aviary full of beautiful Finches.

Finches, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Finches, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia

Apparently the Dingoes are walked around the site daily for exercise and also to help prevent / detect any rogue foxes attempting to enter.

Dingoes, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Dingoes, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia

Dingoes have had a bit of a bad rap over the years, including being threatened with removal from the protected native wildlife list (thankfully overturned) but these guys are seriously cute …

Dingoes, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Dingoes, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Dingoes, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Dingoes, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Dingoes, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Dingoes, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia

Finally we arrived at the Black Cockatoos and were taught about all the different aviaries designed for different purposes and how injured Cockies are prepared and returned to the wild whenever possible 🐾👍

Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia

Having been told how we had to respect the Black Cockatoos space and be respectful, we were then told that they had no intention of doing the same (being wild animals) 🤣

We then had our feet sprayed, removed jewelry and entered the Aviary to play with the Cockatoos, or maybe for them to play with us 😎

Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia

If you’ve never been up close and personal with a group of Black Cockatoos then I highly recommend an experience like this.

They will swoop over you make loud raucous noises and randomly land on shoulders (or heads), and they are a lot bigger than most people would imagine.

Black Cockatoos are, however, incredible social and gentle birds. They will not harm you and you will fall in love straight away ❤

Unlike cuddling Koalas, which should never be allowed as it is stressful and dangerous for the animal, interacting with Black Cockatoos is a two way relationship.

It is also worth pointing out that these “educational” Cockatoos are very familiar with humans and can not be released back into the wild for health reasons. You will never get near a Cockatoo that is being prepared for release as they need to maintain their natural caution of humans.

Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia – MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia - MADCAT Photography
Black Cockatoos, Kaarakin Black Cockatoo Centre, Western Australia

Please remember that these magnificent Black Cockatoos are highly endangered, if you want to help protect WA’s Black Cockatoo population then support the local organisations that are working hard to keep these amazing birds alive:

Post Processing

These images were processed using a combination of Adobe Lightroom Classic CC, Adobe Photoshop CC 2019 & ON1 Photo RAW 2019.

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