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Endangered Cassowary
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| Photo Information |
Copyright: Thomas Sautter (mjdundee)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 76 W: 0 N: 287]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-n-g.gif) (1207) |
| Genre: Animals |
| Medium: Color |
| Date Taken: 2006-04 |
| Categories: Birds |
| Camera: Olympus mju 720 SW |
| Photo Version: Original Version |
| Date Submitted: 2006-05-04 4:47 |
| Viewed: 1450 |
| Points: 2 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Cyclone Larry has destroyed most of the very last areas with population of the worlds heaviest birds: The Cassowary. This male guards two chicks and is desperatelly looking for food in his cyclone damaged rainforest island. It is hard to decide if people should feed them or not but once you start feeding them they will always connect human contact with food which will definitelly mean they search for houses and loose their lifes on the roads.
From Wikipedia:
Cassowaries (genus Casuarius) are very large flightless birds native to the tropical forests of New Guinea and northeastern Australia. Some nearby islands also have small cassowary populations, but it is not known if these are natural or the result of the New Guinea trade in young birds. They are frugivorous; fallen fruit and fruit on low branches is the mainstay of their diet. They also eat fungi, snails, insects, frogs, snakes and other small animals. Lifespan is thought to be about 40-50 years.
Cassowaries (from the Malay name kesuari) are part of the ratite group, which also includes the emu, rhea, ostrich, moa, and kiwi. There are three species:
Southern Cassowary or double-wattled cassowary C. casuarius of Australia and New Guinea.
Dwarf Cassowary C. bennetti of New Guinea and New Britain.
Northern Cassowary C. unappendiculatus of New Guinea.
The Northern and Dwarf Cassowaries are not well known. All cassowaries are usually shy, secretive birds of the deep forest, adept at disappearing long before a human knows they are there. Even the more accessible Southern Cassowary of the far north Queensland rain forests is not well understood.
Detail of Cassowary head The Southern Cassowary is the second-largest bird in Australia and the third-largest remaining bird in the world (after the ostrich and emu). Adult Southern Cassowaries are 1.5 to 1.8 m (5½ feet) tall, although some may reach 2m, and weigh about 60 kilograms (130 pounds). They have a bony casque on the head that is used to batter through underbrush, making them the only armoured bird in the world. Females are bigger and more brightly coloured.
A cassowary's three-toed feet have sharp claws; the dagger-like middle claw is 120 mm (5 inches) long. This claw is particularly dangerous since the Cassowary can use it to kill an enemy, disemboweling it with a single kick. They can run up to 50 km/h (32 mph) through the dense forest, pushing aside small trees and brush with their boney casques. They can jump up to 1.5 m (5 feet) and they are good swimmers.
Females lay three to eight large, pale green-blue eggs in each clutch. These eggs measure about 90 by 140 mm (3½ by 5½ inches) — only ostrich and emu eggs are larger. The female does not care for the eggs or the chicks; the male incubates the eggs for two months, then cares for the brown-striped chicks for nine months. |
dew77, Snoops has marked this note useful
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- dew77
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4774 W: 294 N: 4020]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-g-g.gif)
(13209) - [2006-05-04 5:51]
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Hello Thomas!
Wonderful cassowary capture.They are very big and also dangerous birds.I liked details and composition and your informative note a lot.TFS...:-)
Ohh to be s close to a Cassowary, specially with a babe, no thanks they can kill you with their big toe...lol
Excellent photo tho :)