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ABC News
4 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Young endangered cassowary dies after ingesting fish hook
A juvenile cassowary has died in Far North Queensland after it ingested a fish hook, prompting fresh calls for tourists and locals to avoid feeding the birds or leaving fishing debris. Innisfail wildlife ranger Stephen Clough said he had been monitoring an adult male bird and his three chicks in the Coquette Point area on the Cassowary Coast, about 90 kilometres south of Cairns. He said he had observed the critically endangered birds approaching people for food for several weeks. "They were displaying behaviour which was consistent with behaviour we see when birds have been fed," Mr Clough said. The Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) received a report on July 27 that one of the juveniles had "a length of fishing line dangling from its beak". "[The bird] was struggling and stepping on and tripping up on it and seemed to be in a little bit of pain," Mr Clough said. Rangers searched for and captured the bird, sedated it and took it to Tully veterinarian Graham Lauridsen for assessment. Mr Clough said the incident was "a sad reminder" for people to be more conscious of not feeding birds and to properly dispose of fishing materials. Listed as endangered, the southern cassowary's greatest threats are habitat loss, traffic and domestic dog attacks. While wildlife carers in the area regularly attended to sea birds and turtles swallowing fish hooks and lures, Mr Clough said it was less common for cassowaries. The DETSI said people should remove bait from hooks after a fishing session and discard any unwanted fishing tackle properly into a bin. Dr Lauridsen said it was the third cassowary found with a fishing hook lodged in its throat in the last year, with another at Etty Bay and another "further south". But unlike this latest chick, the last two survived. "Once we started and got an X-ray, the hook was well and truly stuck right down in its abdomen," Dr Lauridsen said. Dr Lauridsen said the hook had done too much internal damage and was in "such a precarious spot" that it could not be retrieved, and the bird died while sedated. He said it was important for the public to understand the risks of leaving fishing lines and rubbish around. "We're not just sort of polluting or leaving our litter around," he said. "It can create a very significant drama for, in this case, an endangered cassowary."
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Elderly man rushed to hospital after encounter with dangerous bird in backyard: 'They will come into people's yards and look for food'
The Australian cassowary is one of the most dangerous birds out there. An elderly man recently experienced this firsthand, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. A man in his 70s was relaxing in his backyard in the northern Australian town of Cardwell when a cassowary found its way in and attacked, leaving him bleeding from the back of his thigh. He was taken to a hospital in nearby Tully, treated, and released shortly thereafter. Agents from the Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation were unable to track down the animal afterward, despite other encounters in the vicinity. The cassowary plays a vital role in rainforest ecosystems as the only long-distance dispersal animal for large-seeded fruits in the region, per the Wet Tropics Management Authority. Local experts suggest that cassowaries become comfortable around people only after receiving food from them. This leads to a shift in behavior where wild animals approach humans more routinely with the expectation of food, contributing to an increase in more dangerous encounters — a pattern observed in other animal species, such as bears in North America. "They will come into people's yards and look for food," said veterinarian Graham Lauridsen, per the ABC. "They become less scared of people and then they'll approach people and then dramas can happen." Lauridsen also said that recent floods in the encompassing Cassowary Coast region were likely a contributing factor. There is broad consensus among wildlife experts that feeding wild animals leads to negative and sometimes harmful outcomes. Food sources can significantly alter animal behavior, and the closer they are to humans, the greater the likelihood of injury. The Wet Tropics Management Authority has a robust conservation plan to keep cassowaries healthy and safe. This includes protecting habitats and migration corridors and educating locals on cassowary behavior. These efforts are vital, as the iconic bird is endangered. Do you worry about getting diseases from bug bites? Absolutely Only when I'm camping or hiking Not really Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
