Deep in suburbia, well out in the
open, a curious cassowary wanders past,
ignoring our small human gathering but
inconceivably close. I’m utterly euphoricbut the vulnerability of the encounter
leaves me breathless. What happens to
that cassowary next? A dog attack, a car
rushing by, trapped by a backyard fence:
all potentially deadly obstacles in the
cassowary’s daily search for food.Saving the species
It’s a scene that award-winning
conservationist and artist Liz Gallie
knows well. A cassowary named Joov
ranges her own patch of Mission Beach
paradise, leading his trio of chicks across
a busy Bingil Beach intersection to cool
off in a creek close to home.
“My heart is in my mouth when
I know he’s going to cross that road,” Liz
laments. “It’s highly likely that Joov will
end up as roadkill.”
A fierce defender of the cassowary, Liz
Gallie has observed them for 40 years in
Mission Beach and fears they may soon
reach a point where the species can’t
possibly be saved.Make your stay count
Mission Beach is located 140km south of
Cairns (book airport transfers at missionlink.
com.au). Visit over the dry season (May
to September). Don’t miss the Cassowary
Festival (September 21 each year).
Stay at Sanctuary Retreat: a registered
nature reserve with canopy cabins,
yoga and meditation classes,
and vegetarian and raw menus
(sanctuaryretreat.com.au).
Explore with Reef Express, which
provides reef-friendly sunscreen
and a plastic-free experience
(missionbeachislandreefadventures.
com.au).
Visit the C4 Environment Centre on
Porter Promenade, Mission Beach.
Shop online and support C4’s buy-back
and community revegetation projects
(cassowaryconservation.asn.au) and buy
locally made wearable art that helps the
cassowary at lizgallie.com.
Find out more at environment.des.qld.
gov.au.
Get involved by volunteering in C4’s
environment centre, the nursery,
cassowary hospital or on regular C4
replanting days.Clockwise from top: Preserving wildlife
corridors is vital if the cassowary is to be
saved. A keystone species, the cassowary’s
habit of dispersing seeds makes them vital for
rainforest survival too. A fierce defender of the
cassowary, award-winning conservationist Liz
Gallie has observed them for 40 years.Tackling the enormous challenge of saving the cassowary
means buying back land, revegetating wildlife corridors
and encouraging locals and visitors to get on board.112 | wellbeing.com.au
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CASSOWARY