The Southern Cassowary (page 3)
(Casuarius casuarius johnsonii)
Cassowary Life History
Breeding: The mating time for cassowaries begins around May - June. Females
mate with more than one male - this is known as polyandry. The female
will mate with one male until a clutch is laid, then she will move onto
another male, until several clutches have been laid. Breeding usually occurs
from June to October, when fruit sources are at their peak.
Nesting: The cassowaries’ nest is made from leaves and grass on the forest
floor and about 1 metre in diameter. The females lay an average of 4 blue/green
eggs, which are approximately 10 cm by 16 cm, and weigh 500 to 600 grams.
 Cassowary Chicks |
Incubation: This is solely the male’s responsibility. The male will sit on the nest for about 50 days, generally going long periods without food and water, surviving mostly on food reserves.
Chicks: The newly hatched chicks are striped black/dark brown and cream with pale brown heads and tiny wattles.
For the first 7 months, the young chicks follow the adult male and imitate his actions. From this they learn how to forage for fruits and insects.
After about 7 month the chicks know how to forage, know the available feeding sites and water areas and they begin to lose their characteristic stripes.
Sub-Adults: Young cassowaries are most vulnerable at this stage in their lives. The male abandons the sub-adults when they are between 7 and 16 months of age, evicting them from his territory.
 Young Cassowary |
Those that survive the initial separation slowly develop adult characteristics - the skin on their heads begins to turn blue in colour, their wattles turning pink and the casque (horny protuberance on top of the head) starts to develop.
Adult: The life-span of a cassowary in the wild is uncertain, however in captivity there have been reports of individuals reaching approximately 40 years of age. Adults have a coarse, glossy black plumage, a tall helmet (casque) and brilliant blue neck and red wattles. Females are usually larger than the males - (1.8 metres tall and 60 kg in weight compared to 1.5 meters and 35 kg).
Current Status of Cassowaries
There are three species of cassowary - the Single Wattle Cassowary found in Northern New Guinea and the Dwarf Cassowary found in the mountainous rainforest of New Guinea, and the Southern Cassowary (Casuarius. c. johnsonii ) found in north eastern Australia. Cassowaries are listed as Endangered under both Queensland and Commonwealth legislation.
Australia has two separate populations of cassowaries in, one in the Wet Tropics Rainforest region between Townsville and Cooktown. The second is in a small number of scattered blocks of rainforest along the East Coast of Cape York Peninsula as far south as the McIlwraith Range. Although the cassowary has a wide range within the Wet Tropics area, they are not regularly distributed, and in most places population numbers are quite low. There are an estimated 1000 -1500 cassowaries left in Australia.
Interesting Cassowary Facts
- Cassowaries are capable swimmers.
- Europeans first saw cassowaries in 1597 when one was taken from Banda Islands and brought to Amsterdam on a Dutch merchant vessel.
- The last recorded human fatality was in 1926 when a 16 year-old boy was killed near Mossman by a bird, which he and/or his dogs had been attacking.
- Cassowaries were traditional food for the Aborigines.
- Adult cassowaries are shy and solitary, however they will attack to protect their chicks or in self-defense.
Take Action
To survive, cassowaries need large areas of rainforest. There is a need for protection of existing habitat and greater control of dogs and pigs. As well as creating protected areas such as National Parks, some people are establishing nurseries of cassowary food plants to restore rainforest on cleared land and create corridors to link remaining patches of vegetation.
More Information
- Save The Southern Cassowary
- Daintree Buyback & Protect Forever Project
- Daintree Properties Saved So Far
- Daintree Buyback & Protect Forever FAQ's
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