For the first time, sibling cassowaries have been released into the wilds of Far North Queensland after almost a year in care.
State Wildlife ranger Jeffrey Lewis said the two juveniles were released into Japoon National Park, near Tully, after 10 months of rehabilitation at the Garners Beach Cassowary Rehabilitation Centre.
“It is the first time the Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation (DETSI) has released two cassowaries back into the wild together,” Mr Lewis said.
He said the sibling cassowaries had been in care at the DETSI rehabilitation centre since November 2024, after one of them and their father had been struck by a vehicle near Innisfail.
“Concerned members of the public contacted DETSI, and wildlife rangers were able to rescue the birds and place them in the rehabilitation centre for veterinarian care.”
Mr Lewis said during their rehabilitation the chicks were reintroduced to each other and spent the next nine months in the same pen, learning how to forage for food.
He said reuniting the chicks with their father was not possible due to the prolonged separation while in care.
“The father was successfully rehabilitated and released back to the wild earlier this year and has since been observed thriving in the Wet Tropics.”
Mr Lewis said the juvenile cassowaries had reached an age where they would naturally separate from their father in the wild.
