Cassowary

Vulnerable

Casuarius casuarius

Size: 3.5 feet tall, 128 pounds

Lifespan: 20 - 40 years

Range/Habitat: New Guinea and Northern Australia in subtropical forest and swamp

The male cassowary incubates his mate’s eggs and spends nine months after hatching protecting the chicks and teaching them to find food. The female will leave shortly after laying the eggs in search of a new mate.

Cassowaries are important to the native people of New Guinea. They have been traded for things such as livestock and even used as a dowry. This use as a bartering item likely explains their existence in Australia as the bird has a longer history in New Guinea. The native people of New Guinea hunted cassowaries for food, feathers for head dresses and jewelry, and claws for arrows.

Conservation Concerns:

Cassowaries are threatened by habitat loss from both farming and logging as well as hunting. They are also threatened by introduced animals to their habitat such as feral pigs and dogs that prey on cassowary chicks.