Urban development continues to threaten the populations that occur outside protected areas. In the Mission Beach area, road accidents are the greatest single cause of southern cassowary death.
Roads cut through southern cassowary territories, making it necessary for the birds to travel across them when looking for food. Birds can also be attracted to roads by people feeding them or throwing litter from vehicles.
Unrestrained and wild dogs are another major cause of southern cassowary mortalitu, particularly in areas near residential development. Chicks and sub-adults are small enough to be killed by dogs and packs of dogs also kill adult birds, pursuing them until they are exhausted, then attacking them. Dogs also indirectly affect cassowaries through their very presence, influencing the feeding, movements and general behaviour of the birds.
Domestic dogs can also attack and kill cassowaries when they wander into suburban areas seeking food or water. Pigs cause disturbance to the rainforest and compete with cassowaries for fallen fruit.
They may also eat southern cassowary eggs and destroy nests. Pig control activities may also be hazardous to cassowaries, particularly when dogs are let loose to hunt pigs, and end up finding and attacking cassowaries instead. Hand-feeding of cassowaries is a risk to both birds and people. Wild cassowaries conditioned to human food sources can be aggressive when protecting themselves or their chicks, or seeking other human food. As birds become less wary of humans, they may become more vulnerable to dog attack and road mortality as they search for food.
In recent years, cyclones have damaged large areas of southern cassowary habitat, causing temporary food shortages. This may place further stress on local populations already under threat from habitat fragmentation, dogs and vehicle strikes. The Recovery plan for the southern cassowary Casuarius casuarius johnsonii sets out actions to secure the long-term protection of the southern cassowary through improved habitat protection and enhancement, threat abatement and community engagement programs.
Local residents in southern cassowary areas are establishing nurseries of southern cassowary food plants to revegetate southern cassowary habitat on cleared land, and create corridors between existing patches of habitat. The Department of Environment and Science has mapped the habitat of the southern cassowary.
This information can then be considered when assessing future developments by state and local governments to protect southern cassowary habitat. A method for estimating southern cassowary abundance from genetic material in southern cassowary scats is being developed by the CSIRO.
Recent work has shown that cells from the stomach lining of cassowaries are passed out in their scats, and collection and analysis of these scats, it may be possible to identify the sex and genetic code of each bird.
These results may help to estimate the size of populations, as well as how far birds move and their breeding patterns. Everyone can help protect our remaining cassowaries.
If you live in or visit southern cassowary territory, follow these tips:. Cassowaries are not common and may be hard to find. For such big, colourful birds, they blend remarkably well into rainforest shadows. Look for signs such as characteristic large dung piles, full of seeds, scattered on the rainforest floor often on walking tracks , and the large three-toed footprint up to mm.
Listen for a deep rumbling sound which the bird makes to advertise its presence and respond to danger. You're most likely to see cassowaries around Mission Beach. Cassowaries can be aggressive.
Protect yourself by learning some simple safety tips. Cassowaries forage for fruits on the forest floor. Many species rely on cassowaries for seed dispersal and germination. For this reason they're known as a 'keystone' species. They've also been called a rainforest gardener, swallowing fruit whole and spreading the seeds great distances.
They also occasionally eat small vertebrates, invertebrates, fungi and carrion dead animals. They breed when fruit is most abundant — from June to October. The female lays three to five large green eggs in a simple nest scraped in the ground and lined with leaves. Once she's laid the eggs, the female leaves. The male then incubates the clutch for 50 days, raises and protects the chicks for about a year, and then chases them away. Cassowaries can live to 40 years in the wild.
Cassowaries make deep booming and rumbling noises, and hiss when threatened. For such a large bird, they're quite elusive. Typically shy and solitary, they can become aggressive when threatened. Each foot has three toes and the middle toe has a long claw up to 12cm in length. Normally used to scratch for food and to fight other birds, there have been very rare instances when cassowaries have inflicted serious injuries to people and pets.
The majority of these incidents are due to cassowaries searching for food from people due to a shortage of foraging habitat. Cassowary with chicks. Cassowaries are important seed dispersers. Photo Nic Gambold. Habitat destruction and fragmentation are the main causes of the cassowary's dramatic decline.
Land clearing for farming and urban development have greatly reduced their habitat. Roles of Zoos and Captive Management. Evolution — Where did I come from? When you give generously, you become part of a committed team of individuals who collectively are helping to preserve some of the most biodiverse habitats and the species that live within them on this planet. Become a Rainforest Rescuers today! Daintree Cassowary Tasmania Big Scrub. Individuals Businesses Schools Volunteer.
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