‘Mrs C’ killed on street
CONSERVATIONISTS have called for action after the death of a well-known cassowary in a suburban Mission Beach street on Wednesday.
The bird, known as Mrs C, was allegedly killed in a hit and run on Mission Drive at 7.30am.
Liz Gallie of Mission Beach Cassowaries said she was notified by a “distraught resident”.
“She heard a big bang, Mrs C died instantly,” Ms Gallie said.
“I can’t imagine how a vehicle can kill a cassowary on that road; you should not be speeding in that area.”
Mission Beach police have not logged any reports of the death but did confirm that the stretch of road was a 50km/h zone.
“The more that authorities do nothing, the more that a few people think they can ignore that they live in cassowary country; we need a culture of protecting cassowaries.”
Mrs C was well known among Mission Beach residents, who regularly saw her crossing urban streets to access her beach habitat.
“She was the best known cassowary in Mission Beach,”
Ms Gallie said. “She has been around since we started taking records – 10 years at least.”
Ms Gallie called on Cassowary Coast Council to meet with community and tourist groups in Mission Beach to discuss options to conserve the cassowary population and prevent hit and runs.
President of Community for Coastal and Cassowary Conservation, Peter Rowles, said Mrs C’s death was “an ongoing disaster.”
“People tend to drive too quickly,” Mr Rowles said.
“They should know it’s cassowary country; we need to do better.
“We will be pursuing further activities on local and state roads to get this problem addressed.”
Cassowary Coast Regional Council has been asked for comment.