A Serendipitous Encounter with a Cassowary or Two.

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May 01, 2023

As we were driving into Wongaling Beach, about 100 kms south of Cairns, it became very apparent that there were Cassowaries about….the warning signs were large and numerous.

Cassowary are large flightless birds (like an Ostrich or an Emu) that are found in just 3 places in Australia (and some in New Guinea), one of which was in this area. In Australia there are only about 4,000 birds left in the wild.

So naturally, seeing a Cassowary was on the list of things to do in Wongaling Beach. I was thinking, we would need to do some early morning drives or maybe some long hikes through the rainforest.

And of course, towards the end of the first week, serendipity delivered.

It was about 9am, we were headed off to find some waterfalls, driving through some of the winding rainforest roads not far from home, and there they were, a male and chick (about 6 months old). They were fossicking about on the road, largely unconcerned about us or the other traffic that had stopped.

And after a bit, he decided to come even closer, just a little too close for comfort, after all, he had very strong sharp claws and a nasty looking helmet (called a casque) on the top of his head.

But just as I was wondering if it was time to quietly retreat to the car, he and the chick walked right in front of the car, glared at me like he was bored with the conversation, and turned into the rainforest and disappeared.