As the saying goes, “Time flies when you’re having fun”, and we can’t believe that our first black cockatoo hatchling at NAR is now one year old today and how the last 12 months has flown by so quickly. With the naming competition we had, “Makuru” has become his/her name. His/her because Makuru still has juvenile feathers which is the same as a female but we’ll have to wait another year or two to see if the feathers change with each feather moult to see if Makuru is a male with the black feathers and the red band on the tail or keeps the feather pattern and colouring if Makuru is a female. The name Makuru is a Noongar word and a name for one of their seasons which includes June and July, hence the name and being born in July, and is also known as the fertility season when a lot of animals pair up to breed for the oncoming breeding season. Makuru is doing extremely well and even though not being fed by mum anymore which they can do for up to 6 months after leaving the nest, Makuru and mum aren’t too far away from each other.
