Hi all
I have just had a look at the Dept of Environment and Resource Management’s (DERM) website and it says: “By 9 March 2011, 93 feeding stations had been established from the Cardwell Range north to Flying Fish Point and a total of 3200 kg of fruit had been dropped by helicopter and placed at feeding stations.” Of course, Cyclone Yasi hit on 2 and 3 February 2011, so these statistics cover the first 5 weeks of DERM’s response to the cyclone.
3200 kg doesn’t sound very much to me, especially if it was partly dropped by helicopter and the birds had to compete with pigs and other animals for it. The Department’s Cassowary Recovery Plan cites pigs as a likely food competitor to cassowaries and I believe the feeding stations are designed to be accessible by cassowaries but not pigs. The Plan also refers to Moore & Moore’s 2001 estimate of less than 1500 cassowaries left in the Wet Tropics region. DERM’s website says that male cassowaries can weigh up to 55 kg and females up to 76 kg. They are big birds! Wildlife Australia’s website reports that they consume on average 2.9 kg of fruit per day in captivity. In the wild, of course, they don’t eat fruit exclusively but also fungi and meat.
I am wondering how many birds are using the 93 feeding stations and how much fruit is being placed in them daily. If we are talking about 200 birds (I am plucking this figure out of the air) and each got 2 kg, this amounts to 400 kg of fruit per day or 4.3 kg per feeding station per day. The 3200 kg of fruit put out in the first 5 weeks – if it had all been put in 93 feeding stations (which it wasn’t) beginning 7 days after Yasi (during which time the birds had access to fallen fruit) – amounts to 1.2 kg per feeding station per day. This is why the DERM figure doesn’t sound very much to me and I would welcome correction and reassurance.
I am raising this question as disturbing stories are coming out of the Mission Beach area of cassowaries in trouble, particularly young birds seemingly rejected by their fathers and having to compete with adults at feeding stations. One young bird with a damaged hip was recently taken into captivity – it may well have been kicked by an adult. Today on Radio 4CA in Cairns, questions were raised about the efficacy of DERM’s response to the Yasi cassowary crisis including some surprising claims which I will not repeat here.
As I understand it, DERM plans to continue the feeding station program for at least 12 months until the rainforest fruiting recovers. It may take longer. This is no small task and requires good logistical organization e.g. sourcing, collecting and transporting of fruit, cutting it up where required and delivery to the 93 or more feeding stations. I only hope that DERM is properly resourcing and directing its staff in a realistic manner so that optimum results are achieved.
I encourage everyone to donate to one of the charities collecting money for cassowary feeding. At this point in time, it seems that the Qld government’s report card will have to read “can do better.”
Cheers
Andrew Thelander
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Denise Read 2010 issue Wingspan 20(3) and Joan Bentrupperbaumer’s PhD. Helen
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Thank you, Andrew.
Is there a socio-economic study of the importance of cassowaries to tourism available? Regards Denise
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Hi Denise
Maybe the locals can answer this one? I dont think there is a huge amount happening. There are some plantings around the place and some groups like Australian Rainforest Foundation want to buy up properties, put a nature covenant on them and then resell them. The Bruce Highway is being upgraded and the Qld government has done some good work revegetating creeklines leading to underpasses that will hopefully keep birds off the highway and enhance connectivity.
I believe another bird died on the Tully-Mission Beach road last weekend.
Andrew
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Sent: Wednesday, 16 March 2011 10:16 AM
What moves, if any, are being made to increase the availability of habitat for the cassowaries?
What moves, if any, are being made to increase the availability of habitat for the cassowaries?
Dear Alan
Thank you and Graham Harrington for this valuable information. I think it underlines the seriousness of the situation up there and how badly funding is needed. I had a look at BANQ’s website http://www.birdsaustralianq.org http://www.birdsaustralianq.org/ but couldn’t find any details about the monitoring project or how to donate to it. Any advice?
It has been suggested that loss of genetic variability and in-breeding are a threat to the Mission Beach cassowaries in their largely isolated and fragmented habitat. I imagine that the Yasi fatalities will only compound this negative potential. But, as Graham says, there are so many unknowns.
I hate talking like this but the cassowary has very significant economic value to the Wet Tropics as suggested by the brand name “Cassowary Coast”. The half a million dollars needed for the feeding program is entirely warranted in my view as a taxpayer. Indeed, I continue to hold the view that conservation and research funding in my home state is not adequate overall and I don’t apologise for that view.
I hope that the results of the monitoring project will eventually be made public and that the lessons learned make their way into DERM’s policy/procedure documents in readiness for the next such event. DERM also have a very important role to play in dealing with the public in the settled areas of Mission Beach as people watch birds lose condition and succumb. I believe that a wildlife care group is getting distressed phone calls and I expect these are some of the folk phoning talkback radio and complaining. Maybe DERM need to be more forthcoming with details of what is happening and what can and can’t be achieved so that the public have some idea of the bigger picture. But I’ll leave that to the experts.
Cheers
Andrew
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Sent: Tuesday, 15 March 2011 8:11 PM
Greetings, I threw this to Graham Harrington (ex BA president, current BANQ committee member and semi retired scientist) to respond and here are his comments. Regards, Alan
“Andrew Thelanders queries about the feeding of cassowaries at Mission beach are timely and valid but the problem is that no one has the data to provide answers. Realising that DERM are flying blind Birds Australia North Queensland (BANQ) has donated $10,000 towards MONITORING the effects of the feeding on the population, the identity of each bird using the feeding stations, how long the birds continue to use them and how far the birds move. This will be undertaken both where the birds are being fed and where they are not. Other data on the amount of food consumed will be collected. This will utilise both DNA fingerprinting and automatic cameras. BANQ need another $20,000 for this project and will welcome any donations however small.
“The response by DERM has been massive and prompt. It is a huge undertaking. It will also cost in excess of half a million dollars. Criticism is unwarranted. Of course not all the birds will be reached by the feeding program. There is likely to be competition between birds at the stations. It is probable that no young birds will survive the effects of the cyclone – this is normal when a population of animals is stressed. The weakest and young die first. Please give DERM the respect they deserve and do not peddle ridiculous rumours (I note that Andrew specifically avoided doing so).
“The cyclone is a natural phenomenon and under normal circumstances most birds would have probably starved to death although some would have moved out of the area. What is not natural is the fragmented forest habitat, which inhibits movement and the concentration of cassowaries near the settlement of Mission Beach because they are fed. The forested area in the hinterland of Mission Beach is somewhat isolated by farm land and this means the movement of birds in and out is inhibited (although not completely). ”
Greetings, I threw this to Graham Harrington (ex BA president, current BANQ committee member and semi retired scientist) to respond and here are his comments. Regards, Alan
“Andrew Thelanders queries about the feeding of cassowaries at Mission beach are timely and valid but the problem is that no one has the data to provide answers. Realising that DERM are flying blind Birds Australia North Queensland (BANQ) has donated $10,000 towards MONITORING the effects of the feeding on the population, the identity of each bird using the feeding stations, how long the birds continue to use them and how far the birds move. This will be undertaken both where the birds are being fed and where they are not. Other data on the amount of food consumed will be collected. This will utilise both DNA fingerprinting and automatic cameras. BANQ need another $20,000 for this project and will welcome any donations however small.
“The response by DERM has been massive and prompt. It is a huge undertaking. It will also cost in excess of half a million dollars. Criticism is unwarranted. Of course not all the birds will be reached by the feeding program. There is likely to be competition between birds at the stations. It is probable that no young birds will survive the effects of the cyclone – this is normal when a population of animals is stressed. The weakest and young die first. Please give DERM the respect they deserve and do not peddle ridiculous rumours (I note that Andrew specifically avoided doing so).
“The cyclone is a natural phenomenon and under normal circumstances most birds would have probably starved to death although some would have moved out of the area. What is not natural is the fragmented forest habitat, which inhibits movement and the concentration of cassowaries near the settlement of Mission Beach because they are fed. The forested area in the hinterland of Mission Beach is somewhat isolated by farm land and this means the movement of birds in and out is inhibited (although not completely). ”
Helen
Thanks for the input and links. I believe a cassowary was killed on the Bruce Highway south of Tully last weekend. Maybe DERM will confirm that, if you can get through to them on the phone. Glad to hear your garden birds are okay.
Andrew
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Sent: Monday, 14 March 2011 3:44 PM
Nobody is quite sure how our cassowaries are doing and how many they are….. and I live in Mission Beach.
None have been killed on the roads here since Yasi – drivers are being careful (so far). We have seen only a few in our area since Yasi, behaving normally. Forest is growing leaves and some species are mass-flowering but it will be a good while before all is functioning as it should.
see https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=120942903263 https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=120942903263&ref=ts &ref=ts for input from locals. It’s often difficult to make contact with DERM.
Meantime, may I give a good plug for Rainforest Rescue, who are running an appeal to assist feeding cassowaries: http://www.rainforestrescue.org.au/ourprojects/save-a-rainforest-mission-bea ch.html .
Our normal ‘garden birds’ have survived, although we have not seen the mistletoebird since 8 February – was hunting on ground below a Macaranga looking for its fallen fruits. Some we know are the same individuals (e.g. by idiosyncratic song, beak damage etc). Where did these birds hide in a stripped forest and coastline with 205-285 km/hr winds howling over?
Helen
< ')/////==< _____ =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
Nobody is quite sure how our cassowaries are doing and how many they are….. and I live in Mission Beach. None have been killed on the roads here since Yasi – drivers are being careful (so far). We have seen only a few in our area since Yasi, behaving normally. Forest is growing leaves and some species are mass-flowering but it will be a good while before all is functioning as it should. see https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=120942903263&ref=ts for input from locals. It’s often difficult to make contact with DERM.
Meantime, may I give a good plug for Rainforest Rescue, who are running an appeal to assist feeding cassowaries: http://www.rainforestrescue.org.au/ourprojects/save-a-rainforest-mission-beach.html .
Our normal ‘garden birds’ have survived, although we have not seen the mistletoebird since 8 February – was hunting on ground below a Macaranga looking for its fallen fruits. Some we know are the same individuals (e.g. by idiosyncratic song, beak damage etc). Where did these birds hide in a stripped forest and coastline with 205-285 km/hr winds howling over? Helen
< ')/////==< ________________________________ Sent: Mon, 14 March, 2011 15:13:48 Hi all I have just had a look at the Dept of Environment and Resource Management's (DERM) website and it says: "By 9 March 2011, 93 feeding stations had been established from the Cardwell Range north to Flying Fish Point and a total of 3200 kg of fruit had been dropped by helicopter and placed at feeding stations." Of course, Cyclone Yasi hit on 2 and 3 February 2011, so these statistics cover the first 5 weeks of DERM's response to the cyclone. 3200 kg doesn't sound very much to me, especially if it was partly dropped by helicopter and the birds had to compete with pigs and other animals for it. The Department's Cassowary Recovery Plan cites pigs as a likely food competitor to cassowaries and I believe the feeding stations are designed to be accessible by cassowaries but not pigs. The Plan also refers to Moore & Moore's 2001 estimate of less than 1500 cassowaries left in the Wet Tropics region. DERM's website says that male cassowaries can weigh up to 55 kg and females up to 76 kg. They are big birds! Wildlife Australia's website reports that they consume on average 2.9 kg of fruit per day in captivity. In the wild, of course, they don't eat fruit exclusively but also fungi and meat. I am wondering how many birds are using the 93 feeding stations and how much fruit is being placed in them daily. If we are talking about 200 birds (I am plucking this figure out of the air) and each got 2 kg, this amounts to 400 kg of fruit per day or 4.3 kg per feeding station per day. The 3200 kg of fruit put out in the first 5 weeks - if it had all been put in 93 feeding stations (which it wasn't) beginning 7 days after Yasi (during which time the birds had access to fallen fruit) - amounts to 1.2 kg per feeding station per day. This is why the DERM figure doesn't sound very much to me and I would welcome correction and reassurance. I am raising this question as disturbing stories are coming out of the Mission Beach area of cassowaries in trouble, particularly young birds seemingly rejected by their fathers and having to compete with adults at feeding stations. One young bird with a damaged hip was recently taken into captivity - it may well have been kicked by an adult. Today on Radio 4CA in Cairns, questions were raised about the efficacy of DERM's response to the Yasi cassowary crisis including some surprising claims which I will not repeat here. As I understand it, DERM plans to continue the feeding station program for at least 12 months until the rainforest fruiting recovers. It may take longer. This is no small task and requires good logistical organization e.g. sourcing, collecting and transporting of fruit, cutting it up where required and delivery to the 93 or more feeding stations. I only hope that DERM is properly resourcing and directing its staff in a realistic manner so that optimum results are achieved. I encourage everyone to donate to one of the charities collecting money for cassowary feeding. At this point in time, it seems that the Qld government's report card will have to read "can do better." Cheers Andrew Thelander =============================== To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message: unsubscribe (in the body of the message, with no Subject line) http://birding-aus.org ===============================
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