The Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games' real-life mascot will be wiped out unless the Victorian government better protects its habitat, wildlife groups claim.

Karak, a south-eastern red-tailed black cockatoo, is the Games' official mascot, but less than 1,000 of his kind exist in the wild.

The birds' numbers were dwindling due to habitat and food loss, WWF Australia, the Victorian National Parks Association and Birds Australia said on Monday, and the approval of a clearing application currently lodged with a Victorian shire council could push the bird to extinction.

The groups are calling for the government to step in and prevent the application being approved.

About 98 per cent of Buloke trees - one of the cockatoos' only three food sources - have been cleared for farming across its range since European settlement, the groups said.

And 25 further Buloke trees are facing the chop in the latest land-clearing application lodged with West Wimmera Shire.

Birds Australia project officer Richard Hill said the government must honour its September promise to protect Karak's habitat using strict guidelines to assess clearing permits.

"(Premier Steve) Bracks must ensure that the few remaining Buloke trees are protected immediately," he said.

"If not, we will condemn Karak to extinction."

The groups' said the council and the government had approved the clearance of 338 buloke trees, out of applications to clear 351, between 2003 and 2005.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP