As our Virginia Tech and State University of New York students participate on the North Queensland program, they’ll be on the lookout for the endangered Southern Cassowary, which lives in northeast Australia.

Sadly, the flightless cassowary may soon disappear from the area. The Age recently reported that conservationists say the cassowary population will vanish unless the federal government quickly protects and expands cassowary habitat.

Population estimates say potentially fewer than 1000 cassowaries live in the wild. And studies have shown that habitat loss and fragmentation is the primary cause of population decline. Motor vehicle strikes account for large percent of the decline as well.

Thus, the Rainforest Information Centre is campaigning to persuade Environment Minister Peter Garrett to commit $60 million to purchase land in the Daintree and Mission Beach currently slated for housing development.

The cassowary may soon only be on road signs, like the one pictured left. Have any of you ever seen a cassowary in the wild? Are you concerned about the dwindling population?