What are they?
The cassowary is the third largest
bird in the world and holds the record for being the most deadly. The female
cassowary and male look very similar to each other but the female cassowary
wins the award for being more aggressive. The cassowaries are known for their
unique brown casque (helmet) and their bright blue and purple neck. They also
have a vibrant red wattle on their neck along with jet black feathers. The
cassowaries range in height but their average is 1.5-1.2 meters in length.
Where are they located?
The cassowaries are generally
located in northern parts of Australia such as Cape York Peninsula and
Townville. They are also found in Papa New Guinea and islands surrounding it.
The cassowaries like to live in mangroves tropical rainforests they prefer the
wet tropics and the humidity. Approximately 89% of the cassowaries remain in
their natural habitat and the rest are in zoos or other unnatural habitats.
Why are they threatened?
The cassowaries are threatened due to feral
pigs as they kill the young cassowary chick’s wild dog’s roads and heavy
traffic. Some of the biggest threats towards the cassowary are fragmentation
and modification of habitat. The cassowary habitat has also been cleared out
due to human inheritance. The biggest threats on the cassowary are
-feral pigs
-cars and heavy traffic flow
- Wild dogs
-Destruction of habitat
-cars and heavy traffic flow
- Wild dogs
-Destruction of habitat
How can they be helped?
There are many ways to help the
cassowary. Some of the main ways to help the endangered cassowaries from being
extinct is adopting a cassowary. Another one is global giving which is funded
from all parts of the world
- By adopting a cassowary you are providing protection for the cassowary by donating money each month to provide food water and shelter for the cassowary.
- By supporting global giving you are helping vets and doctors to do further research on helping the cassowary and care givers to look after the cassowary. You also help them out by donating money to the organisation to buy off the cassowary habitat to decrease modification and fragmentation.
- By adopting a cassowary you are providing protection for the cassowary by donating money each month to provide food water and shelter for the cassowary.
- By supporting global giving you are helping vets and doctors to do further research on helping the cassowary and care givers to look after the cassowary. You also help them out by donating money to the organisation to buy off the cassowary habitat to decrease modification and fragmentation.
Perspectives
The cassowaries are currently endangered due to habitat modification due to human existence and building houses and factories. The two main threats that the cassowaries face is heavy traffic and animal threats such as feral pigs and wild dogs. The wild animals are not a huge threat to the adult cassowaries but they are a bigger danger to young cassowary chicks as they hunt them and kill them preventing cassowary reproduction. Due to new highways being built and new roads the cassowaries are being forced to live near civilisation not knowing how to survive and protect themselves against cars and traffic.