Cassowaries at the Murray Falls camping area have become habituated and are boldly approaching park visitors and pestering them for food.
The popular camping area in the Girramay National Park is north-west of Cardwell and situated in prime cassowary habitat.
Senior Wildlife Officer Alex Diczbalis from the Department of Environment, Science and Innovation said tourists embark on road trips to Wet Tropics national parks specifically in the hope of seeing a cassowary in the wild.
"But visitors to the cassowaries at Murray Falls camping area might find themselves getting a much closer, and potentially dangerous, encounter than they were expecting," Mr Diczbalis said.
"The cassowaries at Murray Falls have become habituated to receiving food from humans and have begun to enter camps and actively take food from plates or the hands of campers.
"This is learned behaviour because people have deliberately or inadvertently fed the birds, and now the cassowaries are stalking the camping area expecting to receive a feed.
"Allowing cassowaries to associate humans with food at Murray Falls camping area is dangerous to both campers and the birds.
"It puts campers at risk of serious and potentially fatal injuries, as cassowaries are large birds with dagger like talons on their feet, and they may get aggressive if they can't access food or feel threatened.
"We're asking all campers in the area to ensure all food, scraps and rubbish is secured and not accessible to cassowaries.
"Extra vigilance is required around mealtimes, which could include eating inside tents, caravans or vehicles."
Mr Diczbalis said rangers and wildlife officers from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service have been visiting the camping area regularly to provide education to campers about cassowary behaviour.
"Wildlife officers are also using specialised behavioural modification techniques to change the cassowary's association between camp sites and food," he said.
"This is encouraging the cassowaries to stop hanging around the camping area and to return to the rainforest and their natural foraging behaviour.
"The deliberate or inadvertent feeding of cassowaries is an issue across the Wet Tropics, particularly around Etty Bay and Mission Beach.
"People need to stop giving cassowaries access to food to ensure they remain in the rainforest where they can continue their important role of native seed dispersal.
"The maximum penalty for anyone caught deliberately feeding a cassowary is $6,452."
Southern cassowary behaviour is unpredictable. Cassowaries can inflict serious injuries to people and pets by kicking out with their large, clawed feet. People are asked to Be cass-o-wary at all times in the Wet Tropics.
- Never approach cassowaries.
- Never approach chicks – male cassowaries will defend them.
- Never feed cassowaries – it is illegal, dangerous and has caused cassowary deaths.
- Always discard food scraps in closed bins and ensure compost bins have secure lids.
- Slow down when driving in cassowary habitat.
- Never stop your vehicle to look at cassowaries on the road.
- Keep dogs behind fences or on a leash.
Cassowary facts
- Cassowaries evolved around 60 million years ago and share some characteristics with dinosaurs, including their three-taloned feet and respiratory system
- It is the largest native vertebrate in Australian rainforests.
- It is the second heaviest bird in the world to the ostrich and third tallest bird in the world to the ostrich (#1) and the emu (#2).
- The cassowary egg is the third largest of all birds at about 584g
- Their diet consists primarily of fruit, some of which contain seeds that are poisonous to other animals
- They are listed as endangered, with an estimated 4,400 cassowaries left in the wild.
