Another adult cassowary was killed by car strike late on Monday afternoon near Mission Beach village.  The death was reported to the local Police the next morning. The body was retrieved from the side of the road at around 5pm that day and taken to the Garners Beach Rehabilitation Centre for disposal.

It was confirmed by the Tully vet who attended the scene the dead bird was a large mature female and it had sustained massive injuries.

The bird was crossing the road towards dusk when it was struck by one vehicle and ricocheted into the path of another. The driver of the second car stopped but it was too dark to see the bird.
The accident caused substantial damage to the vehicle.

“The road death rate of cassowaries at Mission Beach is unsustainable” said spokesperson for C4, Liz Gallie. “It takes four years for a cassowary to reach maturity and then it can live up to 50 years of age. The death of three adult female cassowaries in the same area within six months is a tragic blow for the important population of the endangered cassowary at Mission Beach”.

All three deaths occurred within a kilometre of each other and on a section of road that is known as a frequent crossing area.