From a distance it resembled a mythic monster but as it came closer in the tropical Queensland waters a stunned onlooker realised the struggling creature was a large bird — and not a seabird.
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    But the creature Mandubarra traditional owner Nikita McDowell captured swimming towards her in the tropical waters of the Coral Sea was actually an endangered southern cassowary.

    “It just floated to shore until it reached the level where its feet could touch the ground,” Ms McDowell said of the encounter at Bingil Bay, south of Cairns.

    Ms McDowell said the cassowary headed toward the rainforest, where it “regurgitated a lot of salt water” until wildlife carers arrived.

    The unusual sight of a large flightless bird metres off the coast has highlighted the importance of protecting cassowaries from dog attacks.

    Officially listed as endangered, the southern cassowary’s greatest threats are habitat loss, traffic and domestic dog attacks.

    Ms McDowell said traditional owners knew cassowaries would hunt for crabs and other food on the shoreline “but never that far out in the water”.

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