Endangered Black Cockatoos Die from Extreme Heat in Western Australia
white-tailed black cockatoo in captivity © Neville Conners
WAtoday news site reports the death of 150 endangered cockatoos last week.
The southern coast of Western Australia saw very high temperatures last week which are believed to be the primary cause of death for approximately 150 white-tailed black cockatoos.
Temperatures were in the high 40s (Celsius) in Hopetoun where over 100 dead white-tailed black cockatoos were collected by a Department of Environment and Conservation ranger.
Seventy-five Kilometres east, in the town of Munglinup, temperatures reached the low 50s and DEC rangers recovered 37 more deceased black cockatoos along with over a dozen other birds of various species.
A Department of Environment and Conservation spokesman believes heat stress is the primary cause for the bird deaths, however they are not ruling out lead poisoning as a factor.
Three years ago a major leak of lead particles from the port town of Esperance caused the death of thousands of birds in the area and contaminated local area children’s blood. The massive cleanup resulted in lead exports being banned from the port.
Munglinup is just 75 km west of Esperance along the coast and Hopetoun is also 125 km west of the port town.
The recently deceased birds will undergo autopsies to determine the cause of death.
The DEC spokesman remarked that cockatoos mate for life and the impact on the breeding population could be far more significant than the number of birds that initially perished.
