Animal Diaries Archive

Cassowaries

28 April 2006

G'day and welcome to another week in the Birds Department. This week we are going to have a look at our beautiful cassowaries.

Here at Australia Zoo we have five cassowaries: Rocky, Stomp, Bedara, Beepa and Babinda. They all live on the south-western side of the park and Beepa, Bedara and Babinda all have their own enclosure, while Rocky and Stomp share a double enclosure.

Cassowaries are a vital part of the Australian rainforest ecosystem. They consume large volumes of fruit and in doing this they distribute the fruit seeds in their faeces. This ensures the fruit trees are spread through out the rainforest area and all the animals benefit from this process.

Over the last couple of weeks we have been renovating the cassowary enclosures, making them nice and comfortable for these gorgeous birds. So next time you're in the Zoo, be sure to check out our flightless friends.

Until next week, cassowaries RULE!

Chris