Karak the Commonwealth Games mascot

From Wendy, and adapted from notes from Healesville Sanctuary.

Karak is the mascot for the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, commencing in two weeks time.

Playful. Loud. Friendly. Energetic. Handsome. Cheeky. Endangered. That's Karak, the South-eastern Red-tailed Black Cockatoo who is the Official Mascot of the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games (15-26 March 2006). The Karak is named after its distinctive bird-call. The red gum is its native habitat and the bird feeds on brown stringybark and buloke trees. Coming from the Little Desert area in Victoria's Wimmera and Western Victoria, Karak is a bit of the Aussie larrikin, typifying the Games spirit of friendship through his gregarious nature.

This bird is actually in danger of extinction with only about a thousand left. The death of gum trees on unprotected land, intensive farming and the removal of potential nest trees for firewood all contribute to the loss of Karak's nesting habitat. Natural feeding grounds are also disappearing through extensive land clearing.