Southern cassowaries are Australia's largest birds, and the second-largest birds on the planet! Only ostriches are bigger.
The Australia Zoo harbors four of these enormous and unusual birds: Airlie, Beepa, Stomp and Bedarra.
Airlie, a male, was born in Northern Queensland in 1995. Airlie likes to assert his authority over the other cassowaries.
Beepa, also a male, was born at Fleay's Fauna Sanctuary on the Gold Coast in 1989. Beepa is by far the friendliest cassowary at the Australia Zoo.
Stomp, a 14-year-old female, is the Australia Zoo's biggest and meanest cassowary. Stomp tries to kill anyone who enters her enclosure! Like Beepa, she was born at Fleay's Fauna Sanctuary on the Gold Coast.
Bedarra, a 7-year-old female from North Queensland, is following in Stomp's footsteps as the second-most aggressive cassowary at the zoo.
Southern cassowaries live in the dense tropical rainforests of North Queensland. They are critical to the diversity and survival of the rainforests they live in, spreading the seeds of over 100 types of trees and shrubs via their droppings.
Shy and retiring, cassowaries are seldom seen in the wild. If confronted they are likely to kick in defense with their powerful legs, using the sharp nails of their inner toes to rip at flesh. With such an attack cassowaries are capable of killing humans.
They have a hard, helmet-like structure on top of their head called a casque. The casque is made of a central cartilage core and a tough, horn-like skin covering. It protects the bird's skull while it moves headfirst through the thick forest undergrowth. The southern cassowary is the only bird in the world known to have protective armor.
Though they are fast runners and good swimmers, cassowaries can't fly. Their small, vestigial wings are tucked under a mass of wiry, hair-like feathers.
Solitary by nature, cassowaries will briefly tolerate each other during the mating season, when males make low, booming calls to attract nearby females.
Females often deposit their eggs in more than one nest, all of which are prepared and watched over by the submissive males. Males incubate the eggs and even look after the fledglings. That is, until their patience runs thin and they chase the youngsters away.
Want a closer look? Check out More Cassowary Photos.
To learn more about the zoo, check out The Australia Zoo in Depth.
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