Save the Cassowary from Extinction in Australia

The last few months have marked one of Rainforest Rescue’s busiest periods to date. We have welcomed a new Daintree Ranger, Basil Byrne, to help Joe and the many volunteers keep the Rainforest Rescue Native Nursery powering at its strongest.

As a result of this increased on the ground activity, ten’s of thousands of rainforest seedlings have now been grown and continually cared for at the Nursery. Add to that over 5,000 seedling holes dug by the team on properties in urgent need of restoration.

All of this preparation came in anticipation of the annual ‘Plant a Rainforest’ weekend. Over 50 volunteers from around the nation and as far ashore as the United States, came together to fill 2,000 of these holes with Nursery propagated rainforest trees. By planting the trees, safe cassowary and wildlife corridors on these properties are built.

In less than two hours the job was complete. It was then over to Basil, Joe and the team to fill in the balance of holes in the coming days.

While the end result of 2,000 trees in the ground was incredibly satisfying to all, perhaps the most telling sign that the hard work was well worth the effort came from the Cassowary itself.

Rainforest Rescue’s ‘jewel in the crown’ reforestation project on Lot 46, Cape Tribulation Rd is a global example of restoration at its best, with over 50,000 trees planted since 2010. After the planting, volunteers joined a tour of Lot 46 guided by our Daintree Land Managers, and Scientific Advisor Dr. Robert Kooyman.

The group became larger as a Cassowary father and his three chicks wandered onto Lot 46. The immediate proof our work is creating safe wildlife corridors through rescuing, then restoring land, was so striking that supporters’ tears of joy were shed.

To all our GlobalGiving Supporters, in lieu of being present on this significant day, we bring you this story and a strong message of thanks.

You and fellow rainforest rescuers are rescuing and restoring strategic rainforest properties to create wildlife corridors and stop fragmentation of the unique and ancient lowland Daintree forest.

This wouldn’t be possible without your support. On behalf of all at Rainforest Rescue, and the endangered Southern Cassowary – Thank You.

Links:

• http://www.rainforestrescue.org.au/

The Cassowary is often used as a hero image for conservation in tropical Far North Queensland. How fitting it is to have a dinosaur bird in the Daintree with its lineage going back millions of years to the ancient Gondwanan Rainforest. However, the Cassowary also helps us tell a more modern and precarious tale.

The combined impacts of climate change and development are impacting on rainforests around the world. We know that half the trees on the planet have been lost and 15 billion trees are chopped or burned down every year. Yet these facts are so nebulous they’re difficult to comprehend, or know how to take action. When we bring focus to the local level it’s easier to see what can be done. The Cassowary helps us tell this tale. 

In the Daintree, the lowland rainforest is under the greatest threat from break-up and change. Research shows the disproportionate impacts on biodiversity when rainforest is fragmented. The Cassowary relies on certain species of fruit to get it through lean times; the availability and distribution of these fruit will impact on future Cassowary numbers. In addition, the Cassowary is needed by certain trees for seed dispersal; its ability to move through the local environment will impact on tree distribution. When we start to destroy natural habitat, build roads, introduce invasive weeds and generally disrupt the Cassowary’s mobility we upset this balance. 

Add in the extra pressures brought by greater variability in weather patterns, from droughts and floods, the resilience of the rainforest starts to be compromised. If a Cassowary is unable to travel to an area and disperse a seed, we lose the potential of a tree and all the other species that rely on that tree for life. A small impact, but one that is cumulative. 

Luckily we can do something about this. You and fellow rainforest rescuers are buying back strategic rainforest properties to create wildlife corridors to stop fragmentation of the unique and ancient lowland Daintree forest.

Of the 28 properties saved by you and fellow rainforest rescuers in the Daintree, 21 are now covered with Nature Refuge Covenants, protecting them forever. In addition, two further properties have been gifted to the adjacent Daintree National Park. The remaining four properties will be protected with covenants once restoration work and other legal processes are complete.

 These actions are having a real and significant impact and wouldn’t be possible without your support.