Endangered cassowary goes for ocean swim in far north Queensland

Onlookers in Bingil Bay were stunned when an adolescent cassowary emerged from the ocean and shook itself off late last month. Subscribe to Guardian Australia on YouTube and hit the bell to see new videos ► Mandubarra traditional owner and Bingil Bay Campground host Nikita McDowell sent video of the unexpected arrival to the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service after a guest told her it was swimming about 200 metres offshore. The endangered bird ’will take to the water to cross from one side of a river to the other, or if they feel threatened by domestic dogs or another cassowary through a territorial dispute’, QPWS officer Stephen Clough says. McDowell was advised that it would move on when it was ready. ’I went to make a coffee and when I returned, it was gone,’ she says. The Guardian publishes independent journalism, made possible by supporters. Contribute to The Guardian today ► Sign up to the Guard