Cassowary sightings in the Daintree

Jolyon Ritchie, ARF Conservation Officer,
Daintree

	A locally ‘adapted’ sign in the Daintree, too often proven too true.

Recent months have produced an excellent breeding season for the Cassowary with Daintree residents sighting numerous individual adults with two to three chicks each.

On 3rd September a male sub-adult Cassowary was sighted on Lot 177 Turpentine Road (an ARF block) with three chicks following. This block which is adjacent to the Coppers Creek precinct, where the ARF has bought a large area of land, is an excellent wildlife refuge and corridor for Cassowaries.

But with the good news comes some bad. A regular mature female Cassowary bird – named Big Girl by locals (as she stood 6.5 feet fully stretched) that wandered the Coppers Creek precinct, was killed in a traffic incident in late August. Environment Protection Agency officers attended the accident and administered euthanasia drugs. 

Look out and always drive slowly when travelling through cassowary habitat as the males will be followed by their chicks while teaching them to forage.

Cassowaries like any parent are protective over their offspring. Never come between a male cassowary and his chicks as the male will feel you are threatening them and become defensive.

To report an injured cassowary: