Southern cassowary Casuarius casuarius
A large flightless bird with its own headgear.
When patrolling its territory, the southern cassowary moves along established paths, using its horn-like helmet to push aside branches and bushes as it finds its way through the forest.
The southern cassowary in a nutshell
- eats
- fruits, mushrooms, insects and small vertebrates
- inhabits
- rainforests in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and northeastern Australia
- excels at
- running
Good swimmer
A cassowary can run at up to 50 km per hour and jump to a height of 1.5 metres without a run-up. Water also presents no obstacle to these birds, as they are good swimmers. However, cassowaries are too heavy to be able to fly – they are the second heaviest living bird in the world after the African ostrich. Females and males differ significantly in size and weight. The females weigh 58 kg on average, making them almost twice as heavy as males.
Sharp claws
If a cassowary encounters something it does not trust, it will immediately flee into the bushes. However, don’t be deceived into thinking that it is cowardly; if you come too close, the bird will lash out and attack with its legs. Cassowaries have a sharp claw on their middle toe that can easily rip open a human's belly.
Caring father
It is particularly wise to be cautious around cassowaries during the breeding season, as they defend their chicks very fiercely. Once the female southern cassowary has laid her green eggs, she leaves the male to incubate them while she goes in search of another male. She mates with two or three different males each breeding season. The young cassowaries hatch after about 50 or 60 days, and they stay close to their father for about nine months before striking out on their own..
