Jo Jo the cockatoo is a white Sulphur Crested Cockatoo with an enormous personality.
He is approximately 20 years old, and originally lived in Port Douglas at Wildlife Habitat, our sister park, with his friend Naughty Neddie.
Jo Jo is very cheeky and loves attention from our staff and visitors. You will often hear him calling out “hello” when you enter the Dome, and screeching if he thinks he needs someone to talk to him!
He spends most of his time in the bird enclosure to the left of the main entrance to the Dome, where you might also catch a glimpse of Snowy, our rare white Laughing Kookaburra.
He likes to help with tools if you’re building things, and will give bits of bark to his favourite staff members as a sign of affection.
Jo Jo generally prefers males over females, but he does have a few favourite female staff members – he’s quite the walking (flying?) contradiction!
He also loves to dance – if you start bobbing your head up and down in front of him, there’s a good chance he’ll dance along with you! He has a number of favourite songs including ‘Move It’ (from Madagascar).
Facts about Sulphur Crested Cockatoos:
- Cockatoos are very intelligent and naturally curious and can live up to 70 years of age
- Unlike other birds (who produce oil), cockatoos produce a very fine powder to waterproof themselves
- The males have a black eye and the females has a red-brown eye
- Their native habitat includes forested areas including rainforests along the top end of Australia down the east coast to Tasmania
- Their diet consists of vegetation, seed and nuts