A rescue mission with a difference is underway in Far North Queensland to recover a hardy cow — the last left stranded in the Daintree Rainforest more than six weeks after devastating floods.
Key points:
- A local tour operator fed six cows stranded in the Daintree Rainforest for weeks
- The cows were displaced by flooding that devastated the Far North region
- Farmers and locals were working to feed and rescue the last cow
"They do float, and they ended up in some unusual locations," said local wildlife tour operator David White.
Mr White fed six stranded cows for weeks and said they were in good condition, despite being dragged into the mangroves by floodwaters.
"[I was] giving them some hay and just keeping an eye on them," he said.
"I saw them chewing on mangrove leaves so there's something but there's obviously no grass."
The Daintree Rainforest and other parts of Far North Queensland were impacted by record flooding that arrived in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Jasper, on December 13.
A challenge to wrangle
Mr White said he was in contact with the farmers who owned the cattle and they were working together to remove them from the densely vegetated area.
Two cows managed to get back to their paddocks unassisted and another three were recovered recently.
Only one remained in the rainforest.
Mr White said the cows' different temperaments meant it was a challenge to catch some of them.
"They're just, they're all different personalities, just like dogs," he said.
"[Some] I was able to hand feed them, they were really hungry … they were the easy ones to catch.
"The other ones, as soon as you get anywhere near them, they take off and they're really shy."
Cows on croc country
Mr White said while the cows had been stranded in crocodile country, he was not too concerned about the risk of an attack on the farm animals.
"Sometimes the two things don't go together, crocodiles and cows," he said.
"But in my experience our crocs are very lazy. They eat fish and crabs most of the time.
"The cows [were] quite safe on the bank and the cows don't willingly go in the water."
Mr White said many of the crocodiles were likely already satisfied with dead animals that had been washed in with the floods.
"I have seen a cow fall in the river … the crocodile came along and actually touched the cow with its nose — a big four metre crocodile — but it didn't do anything.
"It just looked at it and thought, 'Nah, it's too big'.
"We got in touch with the farmer … and they managed to drag the cow back up on the bank."
Mr White said farmers and tourism operators had been working well together to resolve the situation.
"We've got a really good relationship with our farmers here," he said.
"They really do care for their cows."