AIRLIE BEACH (AFP) – With legs like a velociraptor and a striking neon blue neck, the southern cassowary cuts a fearsome figure in the rainforests of northeast Australia.
It is best to admire these human-sized birdies – and their rapier-sharp 10-centimetre talons – from afar.
“It’s a modern-day dinosaur,” said Peter Rowles, the rugged president of a community group protecting the endangered birds.
Fiercely territorial, when threatened they hiss and make a deep rumbling boom.
“When you first look at them eye to eye, that can be intimidating, because they’ve got big eyes, and they look straight at you and they do look a bit fierce,” said Rowles.
These flightless birds are only found in Australia, New Guinea and some Pacific islands.
The Australian government lists them as endangered and estimates about 4,500 remain in the wild.
They are considered a “keystone species”, meaning they play a vital role in maintaining biodiversity and helping spread seeds in the rainforest. If cassowaries go extinct, the rainforests will suffer.
“We thought if we could save cassowaries, we also could save enough habitat to keep a lot of other species alive,” Rowles explained.
His group is doing what it can to save these formidable birds, which stand 1.5 metres tall and can weigh up to 75 kilogrammes.
This includes making signs urging drivers to slow down, redesigning roads to better protect native habitats and running a cassowary hospital for injured birds.
