A young cassowary has died after swallowing a baited fishing hook near Innisfail, prompting renewed calls for the public to stop feeding wildlife and to take responsibility for properly disposing of fishing waste.
The juvenile bird, part of a family group being monitored by wildlife rangers in the Coquette Point area, was found on July 27 with a length of fishing line hanging from its beak. Despite urgent intervention from veterinary staff, the cassowary could not be saved.
The Department of Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation had been observing the cassowary family—an adult male and his three young chicks—after they began approaching people for food.
Authorities are urging people to never feed cassowaries or other wildlife as human food can alter their natural behavior and put them at risk, to always remove bait from hooks after fishing, and to dispose of unwanted tackle in proper bins to prevent harm to native species.
