Cassowary
While working our way up to the Tip we went through the Daintree Rainforest and we were able to see our first Wild Cassowary who was crossing the road! So let me tell you a bit more about it.
There are three Cassowary species: the Southern Cassowary, which is smaller than the ostrich and emu and is the third tallest and second heaviest living bird. The Northern Cassowary, which was recently discovered, is the second species, followed by the Dwarf Cassowary.
Description:
All cassowaries' feathers consist of a shaft and loose barbules. They do not have rectrices (tail feathers) or a preen gland. Cassowaries have small wings with five or six large remiges. Their wedge-shaped body, are thought to be adaptations to ward off vines, thorns, and saw-edged leaves, allowing them to run quickly through the rainforest
Cassowaries can run at up to 50 km/h through the dense forest and can jump up to 1.5 m (4 ft). They are good swimmers, crossing wide rivers and swimming in the sea. Cassowaries have three-toed feet with sharp claws - the second toe has a dagger-like claw that may be 125 mm long. This claw is particularly fearsome, since cassowaries kick humans and other animals with their powerful legs.
The average lifespan of wild cassowaries is believed to be about 40 to 50 years
Reproduction:
Behaviour:
Cassowaries are solitary birds except during courtship, egg-laying, and when there is plenty of food. The male cassowary defends a territory of approximately 7 km2 (1,700 acres). Female cassowaries have larger territories that overlap with several males. While females move between satellite territories of different males, they appear to spend the majority of their lives within the same territories, mating with the same, or closely related, males.
Female drummers produce vibratory sounds that begin courtship and pair-bonding rituals for male cassowaries. Males approach and run with their necks parallel to the ground, and make head movements that emphasise the frontal neck region. The male crouches on the ground and the female steps on his back briefly before crouching beside him in preparation for copulation.
After Copulation:
Females lay three to eight large, bright green or pale green-blue eggs in each clutch into a heap of leaf litter prepared by the male. The eggs measure about 9 by 14 cm (3.5 by 5.5 in) – only ostrich and emu eggs are larger.
The male incubates those eggs for 50–52 days, removing or adding litter to regulate the temperature, then protects the chicks, which stay in the nest for about 9 months.
Diet:
Cassowaries are predominantly frugivorous, but omnivorous opportunistically when small prey is available. Their diet includes flowers, fungi, snails, insects, frogs, birds, fish, rats, mice, and carrion. Fruit from at least 26 plant families has been documented in the diet of cassowaries. The cassowary plum takes its name from the bird. Cassowaries are a keystone species of rain forests because they eat fallen fruit whole and distribute seeds across the jungle floor via excrement.
Predators;
Adult cassowaries natural predator are the Wild Pigs and humans. Why the Wild Pigs? Well the pigs need to forage for food which then bring the seeds back on top of the soil therefore not allowing it to germinate and create a new food source for the Cassowaries therefore maybe leading to their extinction. Check out the video below named " The World's Deadliest Bird" BBC and it will go more in details about the impact of Wild Pigs. Their chicks are vulnerable to large pythons, monitor lizards, New Guinea singing dogs, and Papuan eagles. Adult males aggressively defend their chicks
Distribution & Habitat:
Cassowaries are native to the rainforests of New Guinea, Papua New Guinea as well as in the Daintree Rainforest but they can also be found living in grassland, savannah, and swamp forest.
Here are some videos below about the Cassowary:
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