About :: About our big bird, the Cassowary

Cassowary Facts

In one of the most ambitious conservation plans in Australia's history, the Australian Rainforest Foundation will bring together all levels of government, community groups and

individuals, scientists, land managers, the corporate sector and private citizens from Australia and around the world to work cooperatively to save the endangered Southern Cassowary.

Under the working banner 'Operation Big Bird' the Foundation plans to create a 250km wildlife corridor along Australia's Wet Tropical Rainforest coast in the State of Queensland.

Wildlife corridors, while enhancing the aesthetic value of landscapes also contribute to the conservation of biodiversity by enabling species to move across the landscape to feed, breed, disperse and colonise.

The Corridor will be a living green link between the Far North Queensland resort city of Cairns and the southern coastal town of Cardwell, where World Heritage listed rainforest habitat has been fragmented by farms, tourism resorts and urban developments.

Although it is often called the Cassowary Corridor, cassowaries are not the Foundation's only concern. The Foundation aims to protect and rehabilitate habitat for all rainforest wildlife. Cassowaries are a good indicator species to focus on - if we can protect them, we'll also be protecting a range of other species that share their habitat.

The Cause

The Southern Cassowary - (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii)

Our big bird is under threat. The world's third largest bird, one of Australia's largest land animals, is under threat of extinction in north Queensland. Scientists believe only 1200 - 1500 cassowaries survive in the wild in Australia. The cassowary is listed as endangered under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.

Cassowaries are a keystone species which means they are vital for seed dispersal in the rainforest. Over 150 rainforest plants rely on them, especially for dispersing the seeds of large-fruit species.

What is a Cassowary?

Cassowaries are ratites, flightless birds closely related to the emu, ostrich, kiwi, and some extinct species.

The Australian sub species is the Southern Cassowary, found in three populations on the coast of Far North Queensland. The most vulnerable, is located on the wet tropical coast between Townsville and Cooktown.

The north-south corridor extends 250km from Cardwell in the south to Cairns in the north.

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