In September, two more cassowaries have died at Mission Beach from vehicle strike....read more for details.

It's great to see DERM using a consistent format for collecting information and reporting on significant cassowary incidents (e.g. vehicle strike/dog attack/other).  The reporting system means that there is a reliable and timely source of information about these unfortuntate incidents. 

The information is also used by researchers to help them understand the causes of cassowary incidents and contribute to developing solutions that work.

This month, two more cassowaries have died at Mission Beach from vehicle strike. Here is the Department of Environment and Resource Management's (DERM) report...

DERM is endeavouring to "learn" from these incidents and sharing such data with other stakeholders, and the community can be beneficial. Equally, DERM does not always receive direct information about incidents and consequently the community role can also be quite important. Information relating to these incidents can be forwarded to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Cassowary Fatality – 7 September 2011

Regrettably, a cassowary sustained significant injuries and was subsequently euthanized on 7 September 2011.

The incident occurred on 7 September 2011 on Murray Street just north of Tully Township. Time is incident is unknown. The bird was located in a residential backyard with an injured leg from a possible car strike. A veterinarian assessment was undertaken and the bird was subsequently euthanized. The bird was a sub adult male, approx 18-20 months of age. The injuries are consistent with vehicle strike however no report was received from the public about the incident. It occurred on an 80 km/hr section of road. Conditions were fine during that day. The road is sealed and alignment is straight and visibility was good. The bird was in fair-poor condition and the autopsy identified native seeds and fruit in its stomach. The site is within 2 km to the nearest feed station.

DERM records do not indicate any previous cassowary fatalities at this site since 1992.

Cassowary Fatality - 14th September 2011

Regrettably, a cassowary sustained injuries on 14 September and subsequently died on 15 September 2011.

The incident occurred on 14 September 2011 on the South Mission Beach Road. The incident was recorded as occurring at approximately 7.00 am. A member of the public reported the incident. The bird was reported to be walking on high road side cutting on the eastern side of the road. The area had long grass and the bird was walking behind fallen trees (hence the visibility of bird was low). The bird came down from cutting onto a car travelling south and was propelled onto north bound traffic and hit by a second vehicle travelling north. A veterinarian assessment was undertaken and the bird was taken to Garners Beach Cassowary Rehabilitation Facility and subsequently died. The bird was an adult, approx 4 years of age. It occurred on an 80 km/hr section of road. Conditions were fine during that day. The road is sealed. The bird was in good condition. An autopsy was not undertaken in this instance. The site is within 1.5 km to the nearest feed station.

DERM records indicate that at least 10 cassowary fatalities have occurred near this area since 1992.

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Terrain will make these reports available as we receive them - hopefully there won't be too many.

For information on Terrain's Mission Beach Habitat Network Action Plan, click here or contact Tony O'Malley on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .