Liz Gallie is urging people to take photographs and document sightings of Cassowaries around Mission Beach for The Cassowary Identification Program. Ms Gallie started to take records and compare photos of Cassowaries around the Mission Beach, Australia, area approximately 2 years.
Ms Gallie says a lot of people think there are many birds when they are actually seeing the same ones. She is hoping that through the Cassowary Identification Project a better idea of the numbers of Cassowaries in the Mission Beach area will be achieved.
The Cassowary Identification Program has already had a success story with a ‘stripey’ (Cassowary chick) being reunited with its father. A resident had taken a photo of a male Cassowary and his family a few days earlier, which identified the dad with the chick. A few days later another resident rang to say they had a lone stripey in their backyard. The lost chick was captured and later reunited with its dad thanks to the photographs and communication of Mission Beach residents. The Cassowary dad was reportedly very eager to be reunited with his lost chick, which, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Services, Ranger Dan hurriedly released back into the Cassowary’s care.
“It was incredible and only happened because a local had shared his delight at seeing the new family go through his yard,” Liz Gallie said.
Another interesting story unfolding is of a female bird in the area, which has been spotted rearing a chick on her own. This has not been documented before because the male Cassowaries are usually left to raise the chicks on their own.
Read more about cassowaries here
If you would like to know more about the Cassowary Identification Project checkout their Facebook Page here.