Save the Cassowary from Extinction in Australia

The chair of Rainforest Rescue Madeleine Faught recently visited our protected and regenerated rainforest sites in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. She was there to monitor the progress of the seedlings we have planted to regenerate degraded rainforest and the results were great!

Image (c) Martin Stringer: Seedlings looking healthy and growing well

She was very pleased to report that everything is growing beautifully and the newest planted seedlings are starting to create roots and become firmly established in the ground. The loss of trees is now less than one percent.

Whilst there Madeleine was able to witness that three particular cassowary chicks which are very familiar to Rainforest Rescuers - we last saw them when they were very young – have now reached adolescence and are looking very strong and healthy.

This is a wonderful confirmation that thanks to you supporting our work of buying back threatened cassowary habitat along with replanting at degraded cassowary habitats properties, the safety of the populations of these rainforest guardians is increasing.

There are also more and more sighting by locals and Rainforest Rescuers alike of healthy adult Southern Cassowaries crossing the main Cape Tribulation Rd deep in the heart of the Daintree Rainforest. This is also a warming indication that the whole community is coming together more and more to reduce the speed of their driving to make sure cassowaries are top of mind when travelling through this incredible natural beauty.

Thank you so very much for saving these incredibly important creatures - they are not only surviving, but thriving thanks to YOU!

We’re really glad that you’re interested in Cassowaries because we are extremely fond of them and understand how very important their contribution is to a healthy and biodiverse rainforest. With your generous help, we are continuing to support conservation initiatives that help the survival of this amazing bird.

 Sometimes Cassowaries attract ‘bad press’ because people are afraid of those powerful legs and feet, especially of the inside toe which has a ‘dagger-like’ claw that can be up to 5 inches in length. Their main defence is escape. However, when they need to defend themselves, the birds will use their legs and this claw to fend off predators. In defending territory from other Cassowaries, they use a deep rumbling vocalisation and a running posture to chase potential competitors entering their territories.

 Cassowaries are able to propel themselves through the sometimes tangled growth of the rainforest at up to 30 mph using those impressive feet and legs.

 The destruction or fragmentation of the Cassowary’s natural rainforest habitat has increased the dangers for the bird. These large, predominately fruit eating birds require a substantial area as their home range; this can be anything from10 acres to more than 100 acres. During times of fruit scarcity, they will range even further, and expand their diets to include protein rich insects and even small mammals. This search can also take them into contact with the road, and this is where the trouble begins, and even those powerful legs and feet do not help them escape the threats.

 Food scarcity and opportunism results in them taking advantage of ‘road kills’ of other animal species. During the extended time period that the Cassowary father is charged with providing for his young (fourteen months to two years), this road foraging behavior puts both he and the chicks at even greater risk. 

 Rainforest Rescue focuses on protecting intact primary rainforest. This forest is rich in tree species that fruit throughout the year, providing a continuous resource for the cassowary and his family. Helping us to protect these intact rainforest areas and to re-establish and restore larger areas of continuous forest will provide the Cassowary with a future.

 Together we are helping the remarkable seed dispersing Cassowary to continue its fruitful relationship with a healthy rainforest.