Meet Bunji the Cassowary chick who defied the odds in Christmas miracle

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Meet Bunji the Cassowary chick who defied the odds in Christmas miracle

An orphaned cassowary chick has been given a new lease on life on Queensland’s Gold Coast just months after he was fighting for survival after being found on the side of a road.

The juvenile has been named Bunji – meaning mate – by his rescuers after he was discovered on the side of the Bruce Highway just south of Cairns in Far North Queensland in June.

Wildlife officers and rangers scoured the brush for his father but the search proved fruitless, and when he was taken in, it was clear he wouldn’t survive in the wild.

“When rescued the chick was lethargic and very unsteady on its feet,” senior wildlife officer Alex Diczbalis said.

Camera IconBunji the orphaned cassowary chick at his new home on the Gold Coast. Supplied. Credit: News Corp AustraliaCamera IconThe Girringun Indigenous Rangers who discovered Bunji on the side of the highway between Tully and Cardwell. Supplied. Credit: News Corp Australia

The Girringun Indigenous Rangers who rescued him from the highway named him Bunji and he was taken to the Garners Beach Cassowary Rehabilitation Centre and placed in intensive care.

“Wildlife officers had to feed the cassowary through a tube for a week, but after two weeks he was able to walk around his enclosure and to eat quandong seeds that had fallen from the trees above,” Mr Diczbalis said.

In December, he was transferred to the David Fleay Wildlife Park on the Gold Coast where he has taken on the role of a threatened species ambassador.

“The cassowary is a threatened species ambassador, and he will help educate visitors about the importance of preserving this magnificent species, and the vital Wet Tropics environment,” David Fleay Wildlife Park ranger in charge Kylie Zaia said.

“He is already a tourist fascination, and as he struts around his enclosure, he is highlighting the essential threatened species work conducted by the department across Queensland.”

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