Southern cassowary
Casuarius casuarius
— Where the name comes from
Cassowary comes from the Malay kasuari or kesuari, the local name of the bird. It is a ratite, cousin to emus and ostriches, and cannot fly. The bony helmet on its head, the vivid colour of the neck and the dagger claws make it one of the most prehistoric-looking creatures alive.
— Facts
- Group
- Birds · Aves
- Order
- Cassowaries and emus
- Habitat
- Dense tropical rainforest
- Range
- New Guinea and north-eastern Australia
- Size
- 127–170 cm tall, 30–70 kg
- Diet
- Frugivore — mostly fallen fruit, with the odd small animal
- Lifespan
- 18–40 years
— Characteristics
- 01
It carries a bony “helmet” on its head, the casque, whose function is still debated.
- 02
It has an inner claw up to 12 cm long, capable of tearing: it is held to be potentially dangerous to humans.
- 03
It makes the deepest call of any bird, a boom at the very edge of hearing.
— What sets it apart
The cassowary is the gardener of the rainforest: it eats fruit too large for any other animal, digests it only in part and scatters the seeds whole, kilometres away, inside piles of dung that fertilise them. Dozens of plant species depend on it almost alone to reproduce. It is also reckoned among the most dangerous birds alive: its dagger claw and the power of its kick have given it a fearsome reputation, though attacks are extremely rare.
