Wildlife experts in Far North Queensland say people feeding wild cassowaries has contributed to at least five deaths of the bird on local roads.
In 2014, conservationists estimated there were fewer than 1,000 of the birds remaining in the wild.
Veterinarian and cassowary expert Graham Lauridsen said the endangered birds are becoming less fearful of humans and vehicles because they are being fed.
"It is 100 per cent the reason those birds have died," Dr Lauridsen said.
"That's the reason they're crossing the road so frequently, it's the reason they're hanging around instead of being out in the bush where they should be."
President of Rainforest Reserves Australia Caroline Emms has asked the state government to take a similar approach to cassowaries as was taken on Fraser Island in 2010 to discourage interaction between humans and dingoes.
"There's now big signage, big prosecutions, if people are feeding dingoes or wildlife [and] that's exactly what should happen in tourist hotspots," she said.
Conservationists have called for greater fines for people caught feeding cassowaries.