- Scientific Name: Casuarius
- Indonesian Name: Kasuari
- Class: Aves
- Order: Casuariiformes
- Country Origins: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and northeastern Australia.
- Province: Papua, Maluku
Conservation Status
Extinct
Extinct in the Wild
Critically Endangered
Endangered
Vulnerable
Near Threatened
Least Concern
General Information
Habitat:
Tropical rainforests, melaleuca (paperbark) swamps, mangrove forests woodlands and can even be found foraging along beaches
Height:
5.5 feet
Weight:
121-178 lbs
Diet:
They prefer fallen fruit, but will eat small vertebrates, invertebrates, fungi, carrion and plants
Lifespan:
18-20 years
Southern Cassowary
Fun Facts
They can run up to 48 mph
They are a keystone species within their environment – meaning they are depended on by other organisms for seed dispersal and germination.
They are the world’s most dangerous bird.
The male will stick around after mating, and once the female lays, about two weeks later, she’ll leave him with three to five, vivid, green eggs to look after.
Cassowaries are thought to be more similar to ancient dinosaurs than most other birds. Large bodied with fierce claws, these flightless birds also have casques, a helmet-like structure atop the head, which many dinosaurs are believed to have had.
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