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| Car collision deaths increase fears for Queensland's cassowaries | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| They can stand up to two metres tall, possess 10cm-long claws and can deliver a vicious kick when provoked, but it seems that cassowaries have met their match in the motorised car. | They can stand up to two metres tall, possess 10cm-long claws and can deliver a vicious kick when provoked, but it seems that cassowaries have met their match in the motorised car. |
| Two young cassowaries were killed on Monday in separate vehicle strikes in the South Mission Beach area of far north Queensland. One bird broke both its legs and had to be euthanised while the other succumbed to severe internal injuries. | Two young cassowaries were killed on Monday in separate vehicle strikes in the South Mission Beach area of far north Queensland. One bird broke both its legs and had to be euthanised while the other succumbed to severe internal injuries. |
| The state government said 29 cassowaries had been killed by cars in South Mission Beach over the past six years. | |
| According to local conservationists, car strikes, dog attacks and housing development are all putting pressure on the cassowary population which, although the shy creatures are hard to count, is thought to number just 2,500. | According to local conservationists, car strikes, dog attacks and housing development are all putting pressure on the cassowary population which, although the shy creatures are hard to count, is thought to number just 2,500. |
| Cassowaries generally steer clear of noisy roads but during breeding season, which is currently taking place, they tend to be more reckless. Despite large yellow road signs warning of giant cassowaries crumpling speeding cars, there are regular collisions on the winding rainforest roads. | Cassowaries generally steer clear of noisy roads but during breeding season, which is currently taking place, they tend to be more reckless. Despite large yellow road signs warning of giant cassowaries crumpling speeding cars, there are regular collisions on the winding rainforest roads. |
| Liz Gallie, a resident since 1974 and head of the Mission Beach Cassowaries group, said there has been a "shocking" number of deaths, caused by increasing traffic and development. | Liz Gallie, a resident since 1974 and head of the Mission Beach Cassowaries group, said there has been a "shocking" number of deaths, caused by increasing traffic and development. |
| "When I first came to Mission Beach it had a beautiful rainforest that ran to the sea," she said. "When the economic boom came, the natural environment was divided up and the cassowary now has to cross roads all of the time to reach its habitat." | "When I first came to Mission Beach it had a beautiful rainforest that ran to the sea," she said. "When the economic boom came, the natural environment was divided up and the cassowary now has to cross roads all of the time to reach its habitat." |
| "You never used to see traffic around here and now there's a steady stream of it. Around 1,700 plots of land have been approved for development, which will be filled up with people and dogs, so it may get worse." | "You never used to see traffic around here and now there's a steady stream of it. Around 1,700 plots of land have been approved for development, which will be filled up with people and dogs, so it may get worse." |
| "In Mission Beach, one section of the community wants to be the next Port Douglas or Noosa and another doesn't want that. There's a big division in the town. I don't think development is a bad thing, but let's just do it so the cassowaries can thrive too." | "In Mission Beach, one section of the community wants to be the next Port Douglas or Noosa and another doesn't want that. There's a big division in the town. I don't think development is a bad thing, but let's just do it so the cassowaries can thrive too." |
| Gallie said that "rampant" feral pigs eat cassowary eggs and chicks, while some people have taken to taunting the birds to unleash their fearsome kicks. | Gallie said that "rampant" feral pigs eat cassowary eggs and chicks, while some people have taken to taunting the birds to unleash their fearsome kicks. |
| Although the cassowary has been cited as a threat to humans, there is only one recorded death. A 16-year-old boy attempted to club one of the birds to death in 1926, only to fall over and have his jugular vein slashed in retaliation. | Although the cassowary has been cited as a threat to humans, there is only one recorded death. A 16-year-old boy attempted to club one of the birds to death in 1926, only to fall over and have his jugular vein slashed in retaliation. |
| The cassowary, which is slightly shorter than an emu, has evolved over the past 40 million years in the wet tropics of present-day northern Queensland and New Guinea. | The cassowary, which is slightly shorter than an emu, has evolved over the past 40 million years in the wet tropics of present-day northern Queensland and New Guinea. |
| The brightly plumed blue and yellow birds, which can live up for up to 60 years and are important dispersers of fruit in the forest, are nationally listed as endangered, primarily due to habitat destruction. | The brightly plumed blue and yellow birds, which can live up for up to 60 years and are important dispersers of fruit in the forest, are nationally listed as endangered, primarily due to habitat destruction. |
| A 2011 report by James Cook University called for cassowary "crossings" in known accident hotspots and a lowering of the speed limit around Mission Beach. | A 2011 report by James Cook University called for cassowary "crossings" in known accident hotspots and a lowering of the speed limit around Mission Beach. |
| Miriam Goosem, one of the report's authors, said that the deaths on Monday underline the need for changes. | Miriam Goosem, one of the report's authors, said that the deaths on Monday underline the need for changes. |
| "As they were killed in known fatality hotspots, I believe it just reinforces the need for reducing speed limits with appropriate traffic calming," she said. | "As they were killed in known fatality hotspots, I believe it just reinforces the need for reducing speed limits with appropriate traffic calming," she said. |
| Goosem said that an idea to clear vegetation near the road, in order to give drivers a better view of crossing cassowaries, is "not likely to allow drivers more reaction time because they will naturally travel faster on a wider road. Really, the only feasible solution is to reduce speeds and this can only be done with speed zones and appropriate traffic calming or alternatively a great deal of expensive enforcement." | Goosem said that an idea to clear vegetation near the road, in order to give drivers a better view of crossing cassowaries, is "not likely to allow drivers more reaction time because they will naturally travel faster on a wider road. Really, the only feasible solution is to reduce speeds and this can only be done with speed zones and appropriate traffic calming or alternatively a great deal of expensive enforcement." |
| Dr Paula Peeters, manager of the Threatened Species unit, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, said: "Motorists in far north Queensland are advised to be alert and to slow down in areas where cassowaries are known to occur as it can also have serious and tragic consequences for motorists as well as leading to the death of wildlife." | Dr Paula Peeters, manager of the Threatened Species unit, Department of Environment and Heritage Protection, said: "Motorists in far north Queensland are advised to be alert and to slow down in areas where cassowaries are known to occur as it can also have serious and tragic consequences for motorists as well as leading to the death of wildlife." |
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