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This eucalyptus tree on the Gold Coast was chewed through in less than 2 hours. But can you guess which Aussie animal favourite is responsible? You might be surprised. Hint: They were looking for food...
The answer? It’s actually a yellow tailed black cockatoo searching for grubs hiding deep inside. Yes, that very vocal visitor to the coast during the winter months is armed with a powerful beak and clearly isn’t afraid to use it. Trust me, as a vet, my fingers know this only too well.
While sulfur crested cockatoos are more commonly associated with some crafty timber carpentry (well…demolition), black cockatoos find the lure of a protein rich grub (like a caterpillar) hard to pass up. They typically balance this out with the seed pods from coastal banksia trees. Either way, at least it explains a rather intense piece of food preparation...
(Images: Chris Shipman)
