Last ditch plea to protect pine forest adopted by Carnaby's black cockatoos

Carnaby’s black cockatoo. Image by: Georgina StetlyerThe Australian government has been asked to intervene to save the habitat of about 4,000 black cockatoos near Perth.

Conservationists have made a last ditch plea to the federal government to intervene to help prevent a species of cockatoo from becoming extinct due to the felling of its habitat.

Research by BirdLife Australia found there are 3,922 Carnaby’s black cockatoos in the large Gnangara pine plantation, north of Perth. This equates to around 10% of the global population of this endangered cockatoo.

The Western Australian government has been clearing the 23,000 hectare (57,000 acre) plantation to protect Perth’s water catchment area due to the amount of water the trees require.

However, BirdLife Australia said the plantation isn’t being replaced with any native forest, meaning the “catastrophic” clearing will hasten the Carnaby’s black cockatoo’s extinction. The wildlife organisation said the cockatoo’s population is in collapse, declining by around 15% a year.

Unlike many other woodland creatures, the Carnaby’s black cockatoo has adapted somewhat to the widespread felling of native forest in favour of timber plantations.

The animal started moving to the Perth pine plantations in the 1950s, but now its home, which it relies upon for food and nesting, is to be razed. BirdLife Australia said around 1,000 hectares of native vegetation a year in WA are also being cleared, threatening the cockatoo, which only exists in the south-west of the state.

The WA government hasn’t referred the land clearing to the federal government for environmental assessment. BirdLife Australia has written to Greg Hunt, the federal environment minister, to “call in” the tree felling for assessment.

Samantha Vine, head of conservation at BirdLife Australia, said the population of Carnaby’s black cockatoos has halved over the past 50 years.

Carnaby’s black cockatoo, a threatened bird species found in Western Australia’s southwest, is not only losing bush habitat, but also pine plantations it has adapted to. Image by: Keith Lightbody“These birds have been required to rely on these plantations and now it is critical habitat for them,” she told Guardian Australia. “Cockies can move around to other trees but the problem is they are clearing the whole area.

“Perth people love their birds and this is an iconic species. They are cool birds, noisy and bold. We need the state and federal government to take urgent action over this.”

Carnaby’s black cockatoos can live to be 50 years old in the wild. The birds show strong bonds to their partners throughout their lives, with the males flying over 12km to gather the food the females require during the nesting period.

The federal government and the WA government have both been contacted for comment.