Last month in Brisbane, Australia, a swooping magpie caused the tragic death of 5-month-old baby Mia. Now, the city council has proposed plans to quickly remove aggressive birds from areas with dense pedestrians.
Harmful encounters with magpies are by no means unheard of: in Australia, magpies are known for swooping on humble pedestrians during the breeding season. According to the Australian Academy of SciencesThe magpie dive is a behavior found between July and November, because males vigilantly look for potential threats to their cubs. “If a threat is found, males may suddenly appear in the defense warning display,” the college explained.
As we all know, magpies will pounce on “cyclists, joggers, walkers, pets, birds of prey, and even other magpies” and occasionally cause harm. As Professor Darryl Jones of Griffith University told the college: “There are important reasons to admit that magpies are actually aggressive…and they are definitely extremely dangerous. Thousands of people are injured every year.”
Michael Dodge/Getty Images
In the accident that killed the baby Mia in mid-August, a magpie in Holland Park in Brisbane pounced on her and her mother. According to 7News, Mia’s mother held her during the attack and tripped while trying to avoid the bird. Mia was in a critical condition when she was taken to the Queensland Children’s Hospital, where she died soon after.
Later, it was revealed that the aggressive magpie became the subject of five complaints in the weeks before Mia’s death. It has since been removed from the park.
This terrible accident prompted the Brisbane City Council to re-evaluate its approach to the advancement of birds. As Australian Report, Brisbane Mayor Adrian Schrinner (Adrian Schrinner) issued a statement on the pending changes.
“The accident that happened to baby Mia was a tragic accident that caused great trauma to her family and affected many people in our community,” he said.
“The report makes it clear that the city council needs stronger procedures to ensure that experts are assembled earlier and the birds are resettled. In urban areas, such as parks and sidewalks, we must always put people first.”
According to reports, easy-to-see signs will be set up in areas where magpie attacks have occurred. In addition, the committee promised to respond to the aggressive magpie report in a more urgent manner.
“The changes I made now clearly show that whenever there is a dangerous dive or evidence of bird attack…, according to Australian.
Although magpies occasionally cause serious personal injury, most do not pose a threat. As explained by the Australian Academy of Sciences, “only one out of 20 male magpies makes a dive”, “80 [percent] Humans living in Magpie Territory will never be attacked. “



