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Aussie Baby Dies After Mum Tries To Protect Her From Swooping Magpie

Aussie Baby Dies After Mum Tries To Protect Her From Swooping Magpie

The baby suffered critical injuries in the incident and was transported to hospital.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

A baby girl has died after a tragic incident involving a swooping magpie in Brisbane.

The territorial bird started dive bombing the mum and, in an effort to escape the attacks, the woman tried to flee from Glindemann Park in Holland Park West.

However during this escape, the mum tripped and fell. This caused the baby to sustain critical injuries.

Paramedics stayed with the distraught mum and dad and consoled them for an hour.

BrisParks

A spokesperson for the Queensland Ambulance Service told news.com.au: "That was following reports that a woman had tripped while holding a baby after reportedly attempting to duck and avoid a magpie.

"The QAS medical director and critical care paramedics responded and transported the infant to Queensland Children's Hospital in a critical condition."

Despite doctor's best efforts, the baby died at hospital. A report is now being prepared for the coroner.

Kim Marx, the council's standards chair at Brisbane City Council, said they had tried to remove several birds from the park and they had set up an exclusion zone in the park to protect people.

"This is an extremely tragic accident and our hearts go out to the family involved," Cr Marx said. "A number of signs warning about swooping birds were in place around the area where this incident occurred, and our officers have now installed several more."

Pixabay

Many Aussies think magpie swooping season doesn't begin until Spring, however there are reports of attacks as early as July and they can last all the way until December.

The birds swoop because they feel their nest is being threatened by passersby.

BirdLife Australia's Sean Dooley told the ABC this tragic incident is a painful reminder of how dangerous magpie swooping can be.

"While it's only the male magpies that swoop and only 10 per cent of males do swoop...the consequences, especially when people are caught unaware, can be truly terrifying and devastating," Mr Dooley said.

"Swooping season only occurs when the male magpies are defending the chicks in the nest - so for that brief period where the chicks are really vulnerable."

Featured Image Credit: JJ Harrison (Creative Commons)

Topics: Australia