View source for Cassowary

{{Short description|Genus of flightless birds}}
{{About|the genus of birds|other uses}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2021}}
{{Automatic taxobox 
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|5|0}}<small>Early [[Pliocene]] – Recent</small>
| image = Cassowary Diversity.jpg
| image_caption = Montage of three species; left to right: [[southern cassowary]], [[northern cassowary]], and [[dwarf cassowary]]
| taxon = Casuarius
| authority = [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson|Brisson]], 1760
| type_species=''[[Southern cassowary|Struthio casuarius]]''<ref name=HM4>{{cite web |url= https://www.aviansystematics.org/4th-edition-checklist?viewfamilies=4 |title= Cassuaridae |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website= aviansystematics.org |publisher= The Trust for Avian Systematics |access-date= 2023-08-05}}</ref>
| type_species_authority= [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| diversity_link = #Taxonomy, systematics and evolution
| diversity = 
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = *''[[Casuarius casuarius]]''<br /><small>Southern cassowary</small>
*''[[Casuarius unappendiculatus]]''<br /><small>Northern cassowary</small>
*''[[Casuarius bennetti]]''<br /><small>Dwarf cassowary</small>
*[[Extinction|†]] ''[[Casuarius lydekkeri]]''<br /><small>Pygmy cassowary</small>
| synonyms = *''Casoarius'' <small>[[J. Lewis Bonhote|Bonhote]]</small>
*''Cela'' <small>[[Lorenz Oken|Oken]], 1816</small>
*''Cela'' <small>Moehr, 1752 nomen rejectum</small>
*''Rhea'' <small>[[Bernard Germain de Lacépède|Lacépède]], 1800 non Latham 1790</small> 
*''Chelarga'' <small>[[Gustaf Johan Billberg|Billberg]], 1828</small>
*''Oxyporus'' <small>[[Joshua Brookes|Brookes]], 1828</small>
*''Thrasys'' <small>[[Gustaf Johan Billberg|Billberg]], 1828</small>
*''Cassowara'' <small>Perry, 1811</small>
*''Hippalectryo'' <small>[[C. L. Gloger|Gloger]], 1842</small><ref>{{cite web |title=Part 7 - Vertebrates |date=2007 |publisher=Collection of group names |url=http://mave.tweakdsl.nl/tn/genera7.html |access-date=2016-05-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005114629/http://mave.tweakdsl.nl/tn/genera7.html |archive-date=2016-10-05 }}</ref>
}}

'''Cassowaries''' ({{langx|id|kasuari}}; [[Biak language|Biak]]: ''man suar'' {{gloss|bird strong}};<ref>{{cite book|language=nl|author=F.J.F. Van Hasselt|title=Noemfoorsch Woordenboek|publisher=J.H. De Bussy|year=1947|page=146}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|language=id|author=Soeparno|title=Kamus Bahasa Biak-Indonesia|publisher=Departemen Kebudayaan dan Pendidikan|year=1977|pages=39, 71}}</ref> {{langx|tpi|muruk}}; [[Papuan languages|Papuan]]:{{Clarification needed|reason=Which papuan language? Many papuan languages have words similar to ''-suari'' part not split into ''kasu'' and ''weri''.|date=July 2024}} ''kasu weri'' {{gloss|horned head}}<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.heritagelodge.net.au/interesting-facts-about-cassowaries/|title= Interesting facts about Cassowaries|date= 2021  |website= Heritage Lodge}}</ref>) are [[flightless birds]] of the genus '''''Casuarius''''', in the order [[Casuariiformes]]. They are classified as [[ratites]], flightless birds without a [[keel (bird anatomy)|keel]] on their [[sternum]] bones. Cassowaries are native to the [[tropical forest]]s of [[New Guinea]] ([[Western New Guinea]] and [[Papua New Guinea]]), [[the Moluccas]] ([[Seram Island|Seram]] and [[Aru Islands]]), and northeastern [[Australia]].<ref name=Clements2007>{{harvp|Clements|2007|}}.</ref>

Three cassowary species are [[Extant taxon|extant]]. The most common, the [[southern cassowary]],<ref name="SanDiegoZoo">{{cite web |url= https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/cassowary |title= Cassowary |date= 2022  |website= San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance |access-date= 18 September 2022}}</ref> is the third-tallest and second-heaviest living bird, smaller only than the [[ostrich]] and [[emu]]. The other two species are the [[northern cassowary]] and the [[dwarf cassowary]]; the northern cassowary is the most recently discovered and the most threatened.<ref name="SanDiegoZoo"/> A fourth, extinct, species is the [[pygmy cassowary]].

Cassowaries are very wary of humans, but if provoked, they are capable of inflicting serious, even fatal, injuries. They are known to attack both dogs and people. The cassowary has often been labelled "the world's most dangerous bird",<ref name="SanDiegoZoo"/><ref name="HuffPost 04-2019">{{cite news |last=Mosbergen |first=Dominique |title='World's Most Dangerous Bird' Kills 75-Year-Old Owner In Florida |work=[[HuffPost]] |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cassowary-florida-worlds-dangerous-bird-attack_n_5cb30bdfe4b082aab086ecc5 |date=2019-04-14 |access-date=2019-04-15}}</ref> although in terms of recorded statistics, it pales in comparison to the [[common ostrich]], which kills two to three humans per year in [[South Africa]].<ref name = "OstrichTrauma">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.amsu.2014.12.004| title = Abdominal trauma by ostrich| journal = Annals of Medicine & Surgery| year = 2015 | last1 = Usurelu | first1 = Sergiu | last2 = Bettencourt| first2 = Vanessa | last3 = Melo| first3 =  Gina | volume=4 | issue = 1| pages=41–43| doi-access = free| pmid = 25685344| pmc = 4323753}}</ref>

== Taxonomy, systematics, and evolution ==
The [[genus]] ''Casuarius'' was erected by French scientist [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson]] in his {{lang|fr|Ornithologie}} published in 1760.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title=Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés | volume=1 | language=fr, la | at=[https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36010444 Vol. 1, p. 46], [https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36294276 Vol. 5: p. 10, Plate 1 fig 2] | place=Paris | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche }}</ref> The [[type species]] is the [[southern cassowary]] (''Casuarius casuarius'').<ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Cottrell | editor2-first=G. William | year=1979 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World | volume= 1 | edition=2nd | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=7 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16108628 }}</ref> The Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] had introduced the genus ''Casuarius'' in the sixth edition of his {{lang|la|[[Systema Naturae]]}} published in 1748,<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1748 | title= Systema Naturae sistens regna tria naturæ, in classes et ordines, genera et species redacta tabulisque aeneis illustrata | edition=6th | publisher=Godofr, Kiesewetteri | place=Stockholmiae (Stockholm) | language=la | pages=16, 27 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/25749139 }}</ref> but Linnaeus dropped the genus in the important [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of 1758 and put the southern cassowary together with the [[common ostrich]] and the [[greater rhea]] in the genus ''[[Ostrich#Taxonomic history|Struthio]]''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturæ per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=155 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | place=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=la | url= https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727062 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Allen | first=J.A. | author-link=Joel Asaph Allen | year=1910 | title=Collation of Brisson's genera of birds with those of Linnaeus |journal=Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History |volume=28 | pages=317–335 |hdl= 2246/678 | hdl-access=free }}</ref> As the publication date of Linnaeus's sixth edition was before the 1758 starting point of the [[International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature]], Brisson, and not Linnaeus, is considered the authority for the genus.<ref>{{cite book | chapter=Article 3 | year=1999 |title=International Code of Zoological Nomenclature | edition=4th | isbn=978-0-85301-006-7 | place=London | publisher=International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature |url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/hosted-sites/iczn/code/index.jsp?article=3&nfv=true }}</ref>

Cassowaries (from {{langx|ms|kasuari}}<ref>{{cite OED | cassowary}}</ref> cognate of several [[Central–Eastern Malayo-Polynesian languages|related languages]] spoken around the [[Moluccas]] and [[New Guinea]]<ref>{{Cite book|quote=Cognates occur in [...] [[Alune language|Alune]] ''kafwali'', [[Amahai language|Amahai]] ''asuwaro'', [[Elpaputih]] ''asawari'', [[Manusela language|Manusela]] ''asuwalia'', [[Masiwang language|Masiwang]] ''asawais'', [[Ambelau language|Ambelau]] ''kaswari'', [[Kayeli language|Kayeli]] ''kasawari'', [[Nusa Laut language|Nusalaut]] ''asuwalyo'', [[Saparua language|Saparua]] ''asawallo'', [[Haruku language|Haruku]] ''kasawari''...[[Kowiai language|Kowiai]] ''asawar'', [[Onin language|Onin]] ''kasawari'', [[Biak language|Biak]] ''manswar'', [[Dusner language|Dusner]] ''masuar'', Windesi ''maswa'', [[Sobei language|Sobei]] ''swodi'', [[Tarpia language|Tarfia]] ''kasur'', [[Yotafa language|Yotafa]] ''hetuwar''...|pages=192–3|first=Waruno|last=Mahdi|author-link=:pl:Waruno Mahdi|title=Malay Words and Malay Things: Lexical Souvenirs from an Exotic Archipelago in German Publications Before 1700|date=2007 |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |isbn=978-3-447-05492-8|url=https://www.waruno.de/myling.html#2007}}</ref>) are part of the [[ratite]] group, which also includes the emu, [[rhea (bird)|rheas]], ostriches, and [[Kiwi (bird)|kiwi]], as well as the extinct [[moa]]s and [[elephant bird]]s. These species are recognised:
{{Species table |genus= Casuarius |authority-name=[[Mathurin Jacques Brisson|Brisson]] |authority-year=1760 |species-count=Four|no-note=y|narrow-percent=70}}

{{Species table/row
|name= [[Southern cassowary]] or double-wattled cassowary|binomial=[[Casuarius casuarius]]
|image=File:Casuaris casuaris 2008-11-02 329.JPG|image-size=180px |image-alt=
|authority-name=Linnaeus|authority-year=1758|authority-not-original=yes
|range= southern [[New Guinea]], northeastern [[Australia]], and the [[Aru Islands Regency|Aru Islands]], mainly in lowlands{{r|Clements2007}}
|range-image=File:Casuarius distribution map.png
|range-image-size=180px
|size=
|habitat=
|hunting=
|iucn-status= LC
|population=
|direction=
|subspecies=
}}

{{Species table/row
|name=[[Northern cassowary]] or single-wattled cassowary |binomial=[[Casuarius unappendiculatus]]
|image=File:Casuarius unappendiculatus -Northern Cassowary -oblique front.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=
|authority-name=Blyth |authority-year=1860 |authority-not-original=
|range=  Northern and western New Guinea, and [[Yapen Island|Yapen]], mainly in lowlands{{r|Clements2007}}<ref name=Davies2002>{{harvp|Davies|2002}}.</ref>
|range-image=File:Casuarius unappendiculatus distribution map.png
|range-image-size=180px
|size=
|habitat=
|hunting=
|iucn-status= LC
|population=
|direction=
|subspecies=
}}

{{Species table/row
|name=[[Dwarf cassowary]] or Bennett's cassowary  |binomial=[[Casuarius bennetti]]
|image=File:Casuarius bennetti Drwarf Cassowary Papua New Guinea by Nick Hobgood.jpg|image-size=180px |image-alt=
|authority-name=Gould |authority-year=1857 |authority-not-original=
|range= New Guinea, [[New Britain]], and Yapen, mainly in highlands{{r|Clements2007}}
|range-image=File:Casuarius bennetti distribution map.png
|range-image-size=180px
|size=
|habitat=
|hunting=
|iucn-status= LC
|population=
|direction=
|subspecies=
}}

{{Species table/row
|name=[[Extinction|†]] [[Pygmy cassowary]] or small cassowary |binomial=[[Casuarius lydekkeri]]
|image=|image-size=180px |image-alt=
|authority-name=Rothschild|authority-year=1911|authority-not-original=
|range=  [[Pleistocene]] fossils of New South Wales<ref>{{cite journal| last = Miller | first = Alden H.|title =The history and significance of the fossil Casuarius lydekkeri| journal = Records of the Australian Museum| date= June 19, 1962 | publisher = The Australian Museum| url = https://media.australianmuseum.net.au/media/Uploads/Journals/17417/662_complete.pdf |pages= 235–238 |volume= 25 |issue= 10 |doi= 10.3853/j.0067-1975.25.1962.662| access-date = March 20, 2017}}</ref> and [[Papua New Guinea]]<ref name="Rich et al 1988">{{cite journal |last1=Rich |first1=P. V. |last2=Plane |first2=Michael |last3=Schroeder |first3=Natalie |title=A pygmy cassowary (Casuarius lydekkeri) from late Pleistocene bog deposits at Pureni, Papua New Guinea |journal=[[BMR Journal of Australian Geology & Geophysics]] |date= 1988 |volume= 10 |pages= 377–389 |url=https://d28rz98at9flks.cloudfront.net/81234/Jou1988_v10_n4_p377.pdf}}</ref>
|range-image=
|range-image-size=180px
|size=
|habitat= 
|hunting=
|iucn-status= EX
|population=
|direction=
|subspecies=
}}

{{Species table/end}}

Most authorities consider the taxonomic classification above to be [[monotypic]], but several [[subspecies]] of each have been described,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.perron.eu/Publications/All%20cassowaries.html|title=The Taxonomy of the Genus Cassowarius|website=perron.eu|access-date=July 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305031102/http://www.perron.eu/Publications/All%20cassowaries.html|archive-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> and some of them have even been suggested as separate species, e.g., ''C. (b) papuanus''.{{r|Davies2002}} The taxonomic name ''C. (b) papuanus'' also may be in need of revision to ''Casuarius (bennetti) westermanni''.{{sfnp|Perron|2011|pp=54–8}} Validation of these subspecies has proven difficult due to individual variations, age-related variations, the scarcity of [[biological specimen|specimens]], the stability of specimens (the bright skin of the head and neck—the basis of describing several subspecies—fades in specimens), and the practice of trading live cassowaries for thousands of years, some of which are likely to have escaped or been deliberately [[Introduced species|introduced]] to regions away from their origin.{{r|Davies2002}}

The evolutionary history of cassowaries, as of all ratites, is not well known. Genetic evidence suggests that their closest living relatives are [[emu]]s, and that the dwarf cassowary is more closely related to the Northern Cassowary than either is to the Southern cassowary.<ref name=":0" /> A fossil species was reported from Australia, but for reasons of [[biogeography]], this assignment is not certain, and it might belong to the prehistoric ''[[Emuarius]]'', which was a genus of cassowary-like primitive emus.<!-- Auk80:584 -->

== Description ==
[[File:Darica Cossowary 00974.jpg|thumb|Close-up of the head of a southern cassowary]]
Typically, all cassowaries are shy birds that are found in the deep forest. They are adept at disappearing long before a human knows they are there. The southern cassowary of the far north [[Queensland]] [[rain forest]]s is not well studied, and the northern and dwarf cassowaries even less so. Females are larger and more brightly coloured than the males. Adult southern cassowaries are {{Height|m=1.5 to 1.8}} tall, although some females may reach {{Height|m=2}},<ref>{{cite web |title=The Cassowary Bird |publisher=Buzzle.com |access-date=2016-09-20 |url=http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-18-2006-102736.asp |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090315223855/http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-18-2006-102736.asp |archive-date=March 15, 2009 }}
</ref> and weigh {{cvt|58.5|kg|lb|-1}}.{{r|Davies2002}} However, it is not uncommon to see exceptionally large females topping the scales beyond {{cvt|70|kg|lb|-1}}, with the largest maximum recorded being a [[southern cassowary]] at {{convert|85|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and {{Height|cm=190}} tall.

Hence, by technicality, all three species of cassowaries are considered as Asia's largest bird since the extinction of the [[Arabian ostrich]]. Moreover, not only is the cassowary Asia's largest bird, within [[New Guinea]], the cassowary is the island's second largest terrestrial animal after the introduction of [[Cervidae]]s such as the [[rusa deer]], [[chital]], and [[fallow deer]].<ref>{{cite book| title=Biogeography and ecology of New Guinea| last=Ziegler| first=A.C.| year=1982| publisher=Junk| location=The Hague}}</ref>

All cassowaries' feathers consist of a shaft and loose barbules. They do not have [[rectrices]] (tail feathers) or a [[Uropygial gland|preen gland]]. Cassowaries have small wings with five or six large [[remex|remiges]]. These are reduced to stiff, [[keratin]]ous quills, resembling porcupine quills, with no barbs.{{r|Davies2002}} The [[furcula]] and [[coracoid]] are degenerate, and their [[palatal]] bones and [[Sphenoid bone|sphenoid]] bones touch each other.<ref name=Davies2003>{{harvp|Davies|2003|pp=75-7}}</ref> These, along with their wedge-shaped body, are thought to be adaptations to ward off vines, thorns, and saw-edged leaves, allowing them to run quickly through the rainforest.<ref name=Gilliard1958_23>{{harvp|Gilliard|1958|loc=[https://archive.org/details/livingbirdsofwor00gill/page/23 p. 23]}}.</ref>

Unlike the majority of birds, cassowaries lack a tongue.<ref name=rainforestrescue>{{cite web|title=Biology & Physiology|url=https://www.rainforestrescue.org.au/save-the-cassowary/biology-physiology/|website=Rainforest Rescue}}</ref> Their beaks are pointed, sharp and robust but not serrated, which allows them to pick up fruit more easily than the short bills of an [[emu]] or an [[ostrich]].<ref name=rainforestrescue/><ref name=ala>{{cite web|title=This is one bird to be cass-o-wary of!|url=https://www.ala.org.au/blogs-news/this-is-one-bird-to-be-cass-o-wary-of/|website=Atlas of Living Australia|date=26 September 2023}}</ref>

Cassowaries have three-[[toe]]d feet with sharp [[claw]]s. The inner (first) toe has a [[dagger]]-like claw that may be {{cvt|125|mm|in|0|abbr=on}} long.{{r|Davies2002}} This claw is particularly fearsome, since cassowaries [[#Attacks|sometimes kick humans and other animals]] with their powerful legs. Cassowaries can run at up to {{cvt|50|km/h|mph|-1|abbr=on}} through the dense forest and can jump up to {{Height|m=1.5}}. They are good swimmers, crossing wide rivers and swimming in the sea.<ref name=HarmerandShipley1899>{{harvp|Harmer|Shipley|1899|loc=[https://archive.org/details/cambridgenatural09harm/page/35 p. 35–6]}}.</ref>

All three species have a keratinous, skin-covered [[Casque (anatomy)|casque]] on their heads that grows with age. The casque's shape and size, up to {{cvt|18|cm|in|0|abbr=on}}, is species-dependent. ''C. casuarius'' has the largest and ''C. bennetti'' the smallest (tricorn shape), with ''C. unappendiculatus'' having variations in between. Contrary to earlier findings, the hollow inside of the casque is spanned with fine fibres.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1080/08912963.2014.985669 |author1=Naish, D. |author2=Perron, R. |title=Structure and function of the cassowary's casque and its implications for cassowary history, biology and evolution|journal=Historical Biology |date=2016 |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=507–518 |bibcode=2016HBio...28..507N |s2cid=84497795 }}</ref>
[[File:Southern cassowary feet.jpg|thumb|Feet of a southern cassowary: Cassowaries use their feet as weapons.]]
Several functions for the casque have been proposed. One is that they are a [[secondary sexual characteristic]]. Other suggested functions include batting through the underbrush, as a weapon in dominance disputes, or pushing aside leaf litter during foraging.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Crome, F. |author2=Moore, L | date = 1988 | title = The cassowary's casque | journal = Emu | volume = 88 | issue = 2 | pages = 123–124 | doi = 10.1071/MU9880123|bibcode=1988EmuAO..88..123C }}</ref> The latter three are disputed by biologist Andrew Mack, whose personal observation suggests that the casque amplifies deep sounds.{{sfnp|Mack|Jones|2003|}} This is related to a discovery that at least the dwarf cassowary and southern cassowary produce very low-frequency sounds, which may aid in communication in dense rainforests.{{sfnp|Mack|Jones|2003|}} The "boom" vocalization that cassowaries produce is the lowest-frequency bird call known and is at the lower limit of human hearing.{{sfnp|Owen|2003|}} Recent study suggests that casque acts as a thermal radiator, offloading heat at high temperatures and restricting heat loss at low temperatures.<ref>Eastick, Danielle L., et al. "Cassowary casques act as thermal windows." Scientific reports 9.1 (2019): 1966.</ref>

The average lifespan of wild cassowaries is approximately 18–20 years, with those held in captivity living up to 40 years.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-23 |title=Southern cassowary |url=https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/southern-cassowary |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=Smithsonian's National Zoo |language=en}}</ref>

== Behaviour and ecology ==
Cassowaries are solitary birds except during courtship, egg-laying, and sometimes around ample food supplies.{{r|Davies2003}} Males and females each maintain separate territories that overlap, of a size of approximately 3 square kilometres in one study.<ref>Bentrupperbaumer, Joan (1997). ''R [https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/9389/3/03section_2.pdf#page=60 eciprocal ecosystem impact and behavioural interactions between cassowaries, Casuarius casuarius, and humans, homo sapiens: exploring the natural-human environment interface and its implications for endangered species recovery in North Queensland, Australia]'' [https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/9389/3/03section_2.pdf#page=60 (phd thesis)]. James Cook University. Section 2 Page 154 (thesis) or 60 (pdf)</ref> While females move among satellite territories of different males, they appear to remain within the same territories for most of their lives, mating with the same, or closely related, males over the course of their lives.<ref name=":1">{{Cite thesis |title=Reciprocal ecosystem impact and behavioural interactions between cassowaries, Casuarius casuarius, and humans, homo sapiens: exploring the natural-human environment interface and its implications for endangered species recovery in North Queensland, Australia |url=https://researchonline.jcu.edu.au/9389/ |publisher=James Cook University |date=1997 |degree=phd |language=en |first=Joan |last=Bentrupperbaumer}} Section 3, page 114(pdf) 208(on-page numbering).</ref>

Courtship and pair-bonding rituals begin with the vibratory sounds broadcast by females. Males approach and run with their necks parallel to the ground while making dramatic movements of their heads, which accentuate the frontal neck region. The female approaches drumming slowly. The male crouches on the ground, and the female either steps on the male's back for a moment before crouching beside him in preparation for copulation, or she may attack. This is often the case with the females pursuing the males in ritualistic chasing behaviours that generally terminate in water. The male cassowary dives into water and submerges himself up to his upper neck and head. The female pursues him into the water, where he eventually drives her to the shallows, where she crouches making ritualistic motions of her head. The two may remain in copulation for extended periods of time. In some cases, another male may approach and run off the first male. He will climb onto her to copulate, as well.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

Both male and female cassowaries do not tolerate the presence of others of the same sex, but females are more prone to fight than males, which will generally flee when encountering another male. While males and females may also be territorial and confrontational, this decreases during the mating season<ref name=":1" />

=== Reproduction ===
[[File:Casuarius casuarius -Artis Zoo, Netherlands -chick-8b.jpg|thumb|Juvenile southern cassowary]]
The cassowary breeding season starts in May to June. Females lay three to eight large, bright green or pale green-blue [[Bird egg|eggs]] in each clutch into a heap of leaf litter prepared by the male.{{r|Davies2003}} The eggs measure about {{convert|9|by|14|cm|in|abbr=on}} – only ostrich and emu eggs are larger.

The male [[Avian incubation|incubates]] those eggs for 50–52 days, removing or adding litter to regulate the temperature, then protects the chicks, which stay in the nest for about 9 months. He defends them fiercely against all potential predators, including humans. The young males later go off to find a territory of their own.{{r|Davies2003}}

The female does not care for the eggs or the chicks, but rather moves on within her territory to lay eggs in the nests of several other males. Young cassowaries are brown and have buffy stripes. They are often kept as pets in native villages (in New Guinea), where they are permitted to roam like barnyard fowl until nearing maturity. Caged birds are regularly bereft of their fresh plumes.{{r|Gilliard1958_23}}

=== Diet ===

Fruit from at least 26 plant families has been documented in the diet of cassowaries. Fruits from the [[laurus nobilis|laurel]], [[podocarp]], palm, wild grape, [[nightshade]], and myrtle families are important items in the diet.{{r|Davies2003}} The poisonous [[cassowary plum]] takes its name from the bird. The bird avoids the poisons of these fruits due to the presence of their incredibly short gastrointestinal tract, the shortest of all ratites in relation to their size.<ref name=cairns>{{cite web|title=Captive Management Guidelines for the Southern Cassowary Casuarius casuarius johnsonii|last=Biggs| first=James R.|date=2013|publisher=Cairns Tropical Zoo|pages= 23–24, 73–77|url=https://aszk.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Southern-Cassowary-Casuarius-casuarius-johnsonii-Biggs-J.-2013.pdf}}</ref> The cassowary's incredibly short and simple digestive tract leads to a short gut retention time which allow seeds to remain unharmed during the comparatively soft digestion process and allows them to consume fruits that contain toxins such as [[cyanogen]]s.<ref name=cairns/>

Where trees are dropping fruit, cassowaries come in and feed, with each bird defending a tree from others for a few days. They move on when the fruit is depleted. Fruit, even items as large as [[banana]]s and apples, is swallowed whole. Cassowaries are a [[keystone species]] of rain forests because they eat fallen fruit whole and distribute seeds across the jungle floor via excrement.{{r|Davies2003}}

Adult and young cassowaries also practice [[coprophagia]]. As adult waste often contain half-digested fruit which still has nutritional value, birds will devour each other's as well as their own droppings.<ref>{{cite web| title=10 Colorful Facts About Cassowaries| url=https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/80394/10-facts-about-cassowaries| website=Mental Floss| last=Mancini| first=Mark| date=April 19, 2019}}</ref><ref name=ADW/>

In more urbanised areas, especially in [[Queensland]], [[Australia]], 'urbanised' cassowaries have adopted to also feed from picnic blankets, tables and baskets or backyard bird feeders and compost heaps, thereby consuming a wide range of non-natural and non-native foods as well.<ref name="NationalRecovery">{{cite web| title=National Recovery Plan for the Southern Cassowary Casuarius casuarius johnsonii| last=Dennis| first=Andrew J.| year=2023| publisher=Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water| location=Canberra| page=19| url=https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/draft-national-recovery-plan-southern-cassowary.pdf| access-date=July 3, 2023| archive-date=July 3, 2023| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230703065809/https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/draft-national-recovery-plan-southern-cassowary.pdf}}</ref> Cassowaries are also known to eat non-edible items — in one case, collection of urban cassowary droppings resulted in many unusual items, which apart from the skeletal remains of a [[honeyeater]], researchers also found remains of a child's coloured building blocks, various sized marbles and a very small plastic car that came from a cereal packet.<ref name="Daintree">{{cite web| title=Cassowary Foods| website=Daintree Cassowaries| url=http://www.daintreecassowary.org.au/cassowary-foods| access-date=June 26, 2024| archive-date=June 26, 2024| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240626132555/http://www.daintreecassowary.org.au/cassowary-foods}}</ref> In terms of roadkill, discarded fish was reported; another type of roadkill reported eaten by cassowaries is the [[bandicoot]].<ref name="Daintree"/><ref name="australiangeographic">{{cite web| title=Jungle royalty: the enigmatic cassowary| last=Pickrell| first=John| date=2019| issue=152|url=https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/wildlife/2019/10/jungle-royalty-the-enigmatic-cassowary/| website=Australian Geographic}}</ref>

In captivity, cassowaries get the majority of their protein source from dog or monkey food.<ref name=ADW>{{cite web| title=Casuarius unappendiculatusnorthern cassowary| last=Neikirk| first=Rose|url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Casuarius_unappendiculatus/| website=Animal Diversity Web}}</ref> Captive cassowaries consume almost {{cvt|1|l}} of a protein source (such as dog food) in conjunction with almost {{cvt|19|l}} of fruit a day.<ref name=ADW/>

=== Role in seed dispersal and germination ===
[[File:Cassowary faeces.jpg|thumb|Cassowary feces, containing traces of seeds]]
Cassowaries feed on the fruit of several hundred rainforest species and usually pass viable seeds in large, dense [[Feces|scats]]. They are known to disperse seeds over distances greater than a kilometre, thus playing an important role in the ecosystem. Germination rates for seeds of the rare Australian rainforest tree ''[[Ryparosa]]'' were found to be much higher after passing through a cassowary's gut (92% versus 4%).{{sfnp|Webber|Woodrow|2004|}}

=== Threats ===
In its main home of [[New Guinea]], cassowaries are the island's largest and most dominant and formidable [[bird]], as well as being one of the largest terrestrial endemic animals in New Guinea. As such, adult cassowaries have no natural enemies other than [[human]]s (and even then, the birds are rarely hunted due to their reputation, speed, wariness and self-defence, with juveniles being preferred over adults for ceremonial purposes - on average, it is considered very fortunate for a human hunter to kill one in every five years<ref name=ADW/>). With regards to their relationship with the [[New Guinea singing dog]]s — one of Papua's only obligate terrestrial apex predators, with the other being the [[crocodile monitor]] — adult birds generally ignore them, with some even believing that the dogs take full advantage of the birds' foraging behaviour, as both species share and use the same feeding trail through the forests.<ref name=indog>{{cite web|title=The New Guinea Singing Dog|website=The INDog|url=https://indog.co.in/the-new-guinea-singing-dog/}}</ref><ref name=NGScience>{{cite web|title=Notes on behaviour of New Guinea singing dogs (Canis lupus dingo)|website=ResearchGate|publisher=Science in New Guinea|issue=22|volume=1|date=January 1996|last=Bino|first=Robert|pages=46–47|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/294359615}}</ref> It was believed that these dogs follow adult birds to catch small prey attracted to the dropped fruits on the rainforest floor. Nevertheless, there was a report from a native hunter of an exceptionally rare case of a singing dog attacking the [[dwarf cassowary|dwarf species]].<ref name=indog/><ref name=NGScience/> The incident ended with the singing dog being disemboweled and ripped open by the bird.<ref name=indog/><ref name=NGScience/> In general, however, both animals mutually keep their distance and avoid one another.<ref name=NGScience/>

Cassowary chicks are vulnerable to large [[Pythonidae|python]]s, [[monitor lizard]]s, [[New Guinea singing dog]]s, and [[Papuan eagle]]s. When threatened, it is known that cassowary chicks emit different vocalisation calls to indicate the specific threat, such as a hawk, before running underneath their father.<ref name="australiangeographic"/> Adult males aggressively defend their chicks. While adult males usually scare off or kill most predators, a chick will occasionally be separated in the chaos and become a potential target.<ref>Roots, Clive. Flightless birds. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006.</ref>

However, in the relic populations of north-eastern [[Australia]], the cassowary population faces threats from [[vehicle]]s, and are in danger of being outcompeted by [[wild boar]]s, with their eggs being most vulnerable to boar predation.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mb1bbIyF9OU&t=170s|title= Giant Cassowaries are Modern-day Dinosaurs|date= 2019 |website= YouTube |publisher=BBC Earth}}</ref> Their chicks also face dangers and predation from [[domesticated dog]]s, which has resulted in a widespread decline in the Australian mainland. Because of such frequent inter-species conflicts, hunting dogs are one of the biggest enemies for cassowaries, and it is not unheard of for hunting dogs to accidentally kill cassowary chicks instead of feral pigs, with the dogs in turn being killed by the nearby adult rooster.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.wettropics.gov.au/cassowaries|title= Cassowaries|website= Wet Tropics}}</ref> Outside of threats from invasive species, the birds are also vulnerable to being unintentionally poisoned as well. It is unknown why the cassowary population in Australia is in decline, as the New Guinea population has dealt with introduced [[wild boars]], [[dogs]] and [[feral cats]] for thousands of years longer with little to no impact on its population, suggesting that either the cassowaries of New Guinea had long adapted to human-introduced species or that the rich biodiversity of New Guinea allowed for additional [[niche partition]]ing.<ref>{{cite book| title=Biogeography and ecology of New Guinea| last=Bulmer| first=S.| year=1982| publisher=Junk| location=The Hague}}</ref>

Cassowary meat has been reported to be quite tough. Australian administrative officers stationed in New Guinea were advised that it "should be cooked with a stone in the pot: when the stone is ready to eat, so is the cassowary".<ref>Vader, John, ''New Guinea: The Tide is Stemmed.'' NY, Ballantine Books: 1971, p. 35.</ref>

== Distribution and habitat ==
Cassowaries are native to the humid rainforests of New Guinea, nearby smaller islands, [[East Nusa Tenggara]], the [[Maluku Islands]], and northeastern Australia.{{r|Clements2007}} They do, however, venture out into palm scrub, [[grassland]], [[savanna]], and swamp forest. The wild population of cassowaries is threatened by deforestation, hunting, and habitat destruction. Human presence and agricultural activities have also contributed to the decline of their population in some areas. To protect this species, various conservation efforts have been carried out, including preserving natural habitat and enforcing regulations against illegal hunting.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Planting important habitat to save the Iconic Cassowary |url=https://www.fame.org.au/projects/planting-important-habitat-to-save-the-iconic-cassowary |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=The Foundation for Australia's Most Endangered Species (FAME)}}</ref> In Indonesia, cassowaries are predominantly found in the rainforests of Papua, particularly in lowland and montane areas. In addition, cassowaries are known to inhabit protected areas such as [[Wasur National Park]] in Merauke and [[Lorentz National Park]], which is the largest national park in Southeast Asia, encompassing a vast range of ecosystems from coastal to alpine environments.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Centre |first=UNESCO World Heritage |title=Lorentz National Park |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/955/ |access-date=2025-04-06 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre |language=en}}</ref> These birds play a critical ecological role in seed dispersal, contributing to the regeneration of forests in these protected areas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=UNEP-WCMC |date=2017-05-22 |title=Lorentz National Park |url=http://world-heritage-datasheets.unep-wcmc.org/datasheet/output/site/lorentz-national-park/ |access-date=2024-09-28 |website=World Heritage Datasheet |language=en}}</ref> They can also be easily spotted in some national parks such as Mellwraith Range National Park, [[Paluma Range National Park]], and Jardine National Park in Australia.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-12-09|title=Cassowary: Description, Pictures, & Fun Facts I TheBirdPedia|url=https://thebirdpedia.com/cassowary-description-pictures-fun-facts/|access-date=2022-02-17|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Status and conservation ==
[[File:Road sign -Cairns, Queensland, Australia-26Oct2007.jpg|thumb|A road sign in [[Cairns]], [[Queensland]], Australia]]
[[File:Southern Cassowary 7071.jpg|right|thumb|A free-ranging cassowary wandering in a tourist park at Etty Bay, Queensland]]
The southern cassowary is endangered in Queensland. Kofron and Chapman, upon assessing the decline of this species, found that only 20-25% of the former cassowary habitat remains. Habitat loss and fragmentation is the primary cause of decline.{{sfnp|Kofron|Chapman|2006|}} They then studied 140 cases of cassowary mortality, and found that motor-vehicle strikes accounted for 55% of the deaths, and dog attacks produced another 18%. Remaining causes of death included hunting (five cases), entanglement in wire (one case), the removal of cassowaries that attacked humans (four cases), and natural causes (18 cases), including tuberculosis (four cases). The cause for 14 cases was indicated as "for unknown reasons".{{sfnp|Kofron|Chapman|2006|}}

Hand feeding cassowaries poses a significant threat to their survival because it lures them into suburban areas. There, the birds are more susceptible to encounters with vehicles and dogs.{{sfnp|Borrell|2008|}} Contact with humans encourages cassowaries to take food from picnic tables. [[Feral pig]]s also are a significant threat to their survival. They destroy nests and eggs of cassowaries, but their worst effect is as competitors for food, which may be catastrophic for cassowaries during lean times.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2018-05-30|title=Feral pigs decimating cassowaries in world heritage-listed Daintree, filmmaker says|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-30/pigs-decimating-cassowaries-in-world-heritage-listed-daintree/9815164|access-date=2021-01-28|newspaper=ABC News|language=en-AU|last1=Sexton-Mcgrath|first1=Kristy|last2=Stephen|first2=Adam}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=International)|first=BirdLife International (BirdLife)|date=2018-08-09|title=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Casuarius casuarius|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/en|access-date=2021-01-28|website=IUCN Red List of Threatened Species}}</ref>

In February 2011, [[Cyclone Yasi]] destroyed a large area of cassowary habitat, endangering 200 of the birds – about 10% of the total Australian population.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/cyclone-puts-cassowary-in-greater-peril-2226790.html|title=Cyclone puts cassowary in greater peril|work=The Independent|date=February 27, 2011}}</ref>

The Mission Beach community in far north Queensland holds an annual Cassowary Festival in September, where funds are raised to map the bird's habitat.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cassowary carnival: Queensland town celebrates a famous flightless bird |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/language/nitv-radio/en/podcast-episode/cassowary-carnival-queensland-town-celebrates-a-famous-flightless-bird/cxmigfom6 |access-date=2022-11-10 |website=SBS Language |language=en}}</ref>

Concerns have been raised about cassowaries as a potential invasive species on the island of [[Tasmania]].<ref name=nre>{{cite web|title=PEST RISK ASSESSMENT Southern Cassowary|publisher= Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment|pages=10–11|url=https://nre.tas.gov.au/Documents/Cassowary_risk-assessment.pdf|date=2011}}</ref> According to the [[Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment]] from [[Hobart]], risk assessments on the cassowary as a potential invasive pest states that, while the birds may have trouble establishing a stable population on the island, they might be a destructive element to Tasmania's ecological diversity; the assessment recommends strict import controls.<ref name=nre/> Cassowaries would be the island's largest and most dominant native terrestrial animal and could displace smaller animals in the same ecological niche.<ref name=nre/> Frugivores such as the [[common brushtail possum]], [[common ringtail possum]], [[eastern pygmy possum]] and the [[little pygmy possum]] could be denied access to fruit, which they depend upon.<ref name=nre/>

However, since Tasmania lacks the same levels of fruit diversity as Queensland and New Guinea, assessments state that the birds might adapt by also eating invertebrates and small vertebrates. This could lead to competition with the island's endemic insectivores, such as the [[eastern quoll]], [[southern brown bandicoot]], and [[eastern barred bandicoot]].<ref name=nre/>

== In captivity ==
The cassowary has solitary habits and breeds less frequently in zoos than other ratites such as the ostrich and emu. Unlike other ratites, it lives exclusively in tropical rainforests, making reproducing their habitat essential. Unlike the emu, which will live with other [[sympatric]] species, such as [[kangaroos]], in "mixed Australian fauna" displays, the cassowary does not cohabit well among its own kind. Individual specimens must even be kept in separate enclosures, due to their solitary and aggressive nature.

The double-wattled cassowary (''C. casuarius'') is the most popular species in captivity, and it is fairly common in European and American zoos, where it is known for its distinctive appearance. {{As of|2019}}, only [[Weltvogelpark Walsrode]] in Germany has all three species of cassowaries in its collection: single-wattled cassowary (''Casuarius unappendiculatus'') and Bennett's cassowary (''Casuarius bennetti''). If subspecies are recognised, Weltvogelpark Walsrode has ''C. b. westermanni'' and ''C. u. rufotinctus''.

== Relationship with humans ==
=== Role in Papuan cultures and semi-domestication ===
[[File:Coat of arms of West Papua.svg|thumb|right|200px|The cassowary is featured on the coat of arms of the [[Provinces of Indonesia|Indonesian province]] of [[West Papua (province)|West Papua]]]]
[[File:UvA-BC 300.273 - Siboga - de "scheepsvogel" Piet, een kasuaris, op het erf van de pasanggrahan op Saleyer.jpg|thumbnail|200px|Cassowary held as a pet during the [[Siboga Expedition]] on Indonesia and New Guinea, 1899–1900]]

There is evidence that the cassowary may have been domesticated by humans thousands of years before the chicken. Some New Guinea Highlands societies capture cassowary chicks and raise them as semi-tame poultry, for use in ceremonial gift exchanges and as food.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Katie Hunt|title=World's most dangerous bird raised by humans 18,000 years ago, study suggests|url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/27/world/early-humans-raised-cassowary-chicks-scn/index.html|access-date=2021-09-28|website=CNN|date=September 27, 2021 }}</ref>{{sfnp|Bulmer|1967|}} They are the only indigenous Australasian animal known to have been partly domesticated by people prior to European arrival and colonization and by definition, the oldest form of domesticated animal and the largest domesticated bird.<ref>Bourke, R. Michael: History of agriculture in Papua New Guinea in Food and Agriculture in Papua New Guinea, ANU Press, 2009</ref> The Maring people of Kundagai sacrificed cassowaries (''C. bennetti'') in certain rituals.<ref>{{cite book|author=Healey, Chris|url=http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/docs/Memoirs/mem_048/manandahalf034.pdf|title=Man and a Half: Essays in Pacific Anthropology and Ethnobiology in Honour of Ralph Bulmer|date=1991|pages=234–241|chapter=Why is the Cassowary sacrificed|access-date=July 30, 2020|archive-date=September 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928163602/http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/docs/Memoirs/mem_048/manandahalf034.pdf}}</ref> The Kalam people considered themselves related to cassowaries, and did not classify them as birds, but as kin.{{sfnp|Bulmer|1967|}} Consequently, they use the [[Pandanus language|Pandanus register]] of the [[Kalam language]] when eating cassowary meat.<ref name="Majnep">{{cite book |last1=Majnep |first1=Ian Saem |last2=Bulmer |first2=Ralph |author-link2=Ralph Bulmer |others=illustrations by Christopher Healey |pages=150, 152 |title=Birds of my Kalam Country |trans-title=Mn̄mon Yad Kalam Yakt |date=1977 |publisher=Auckland University Press |location=New Zealand |isbn=978-0-19-647953-8 |language=English |oclc=251862814}}</ref>

Studies on [[Pleistocene]]/early [[Holocene]] cassowary remains in Papua suggest that indigenous people at the time preferred to harvest eggs rather than adults. They seem to have regulated their consumption of these birds, possibly even collecting eggs and rearing young birds as one of the earliest forms of domestication.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Douglass |first1=Kristina |last2=Gaffney |first2=Dylan |last3=Feo |first3=Teresa J. |last4=Bulathsinhala |first4=Priyangi |last5=Mack |first5=Andrew L. |last6=Spitzer |first6=Megan |last7=Summerhayes |first7=Glenn R. |title=Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene sites in the montane forests of New Guinea yield early record of cassowary hunting and egg harvesting |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=5 October 2021 |volume=118 |issue=40 |article-number=e2100117118 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2100117118 |pmid=34580213 |pmc=8501781 |bibcode=2021PNAS..11800117D |s2cid=238203829 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

=== Urbanisation of local cassowary population ===

In extremely urbanised areas where cassowaries used to naturally live such as in Queensland, Australia or in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, the local cassowary population had adapted to its less forested grounds. Increasing urbanisation has increased the likelihood of human-cassowary interaction, a potentially dangerous mix.<ref name="RecoveryPlan">{{cite web| title=Recovery plan for the southern cassowary Casuarius casuarius johnsonii| last=Latch| first=Peter| year=2007| publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts| location=Canberra| pages=23–24| url=https://www.agriculture.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/sth-cassowary.pdf}}</ref>

It was found that cassowaries in these urban environments changed their diets accordingly, with urbanised cassowaries actually consuming an even greater proportion of fruits from exotic plants (~30%) but still incorporating a significant proportion of fruits from native plants in their diet.<ref name="AustralEcology">{{cite journal| title=The southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) remains an important disperser of native plants in fragmented rainforest landscapes|author1-last=Campbell | author1-first=Mariana A. |author2-last=Lawton | author2-first=Tom |author3-last=Udyawer| author3-first=Vinay |author4-last=Bell-Anderson| author4-first=Kim S. |author5-last=Westcott| author5-first=David |author6-last=Campbell| author6-first=Hamish A.| year=2023| journal=Austral Ecology|volume=48 |issue=4 |pages=787–802 | location=Australia| doi=10.1111/aec.13309| doi-access=free|bibcode=2023AusEc..48..787C }}</ref> Likewise, as aforementioned, the high concentration of human activity in the urban ecology also equates to a higher concentration of food diversity and food waste, with these 'urbanised' cassowaries foraging for food scraps, bird feeders and outdoor picnic/food venues without fear from humans or domesticated animals due to the birds' size and reputation.<ref name="NationalRecovery"/>

The high concentration of human activity as well as vehicles, mixed with domesticated animals and less forest coverage, had also changed their behaviours. These 'city' cassowaries were shown to exist in a higher state of activity and rested less than individuals inhabiting more intact swathes of rainforest, actively moving between urban gardens and the rainforest.<ref name="AustralEcology"/> The study give evidence that these birds showed a surprising amount of flexible foraging strategy that has enabled them to persist in rainforest-fragmented landscapes.<ref name="AustralEcology"/>

=== Attacks ===
Cassowaries have a reputation for being dangerous to people and domestic animals. During [[World War&nbsp;II]], American and Australian troops stationed in New Guinea were warned to steer clear of them. In his 1958 book ''Living Birds of the World'', ornithologist [[Ernest Thomas Gilliard]] wrote:

<blockquote>The inner or second of the three toes is fitted with a long, straight, murderous nail which can sever an arm or eviscerate an abdomen with ease. There are many records of natives being killed by this bird.{{sfnp|Gilliard|1958|p=27}}</blockquote>

This assessment of the danger posed by cassowaries has been repeated in print by authors, including [[Gregory S. Paul]]{{sfnp|Paul|1988|loc=[https://archive.org/details/predatorydinosau00paul/page/364 p. 364], 464}} and [[Jared Diamond]].{{sfnp|Diamond|1997|loc=[https://archive.org/details/gunsgermssteelfa0000diam/page/165 p. 165]}} A 2003 historical study of 221 cassowary attacks showed that 150 had been against humans; 75% of these had been from cassowaries that had been fed by people, 71% of the time the bird had chased or charged the victim, and 15% of the time they kicked. Of the attacks, 73% involved the birds expecting or snatching food, 5% involved defending their natural food sources, 15% involved defending themselves, and 7% involved defending their chicks or eggs. Only one human death was reported among those 150 attacks.{{sfnp|Kofron|1999|}}

The first documented human death caused by a cassowary was on April 6, 1926. In Australia, 16-year-old Phillip McClean and his brother, age 13, came across a cassowary on their property near [[Mossman, Queensland]],<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/image/1022482567/"Killed by Cassowary; Jugular Vein Punctured"], ''The Telegraph'' (Brisbane), April 9, 1926, p.7</ref> and decided to try to kill it by striking it with clubs. The bird kicked the younger boy, who fell and ran away as his older brother struck the bird. The older McClean then tripped and fell to the ground. While he was on the ground, the cassowary kicked him in the neck, opening a {{convert|1.25|cm|in|2|adj=on}} wound that severed his [[jugular vein]]. The boy died of his injuries shortly thereafter.{{sfnp|Kofron|2003|}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://a-z-animals.com/blog/10-birds-that-cant-fly/|title=10 Birds That Can't Fly|first=Patrick|last=Sather|date=October 13, 2021|website=AZ Animals|access-date=March 28, 2023|archive-date=March 28, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230328130344/https://a-z-animals.com/blog/10-birds-that-cant-fly/}}</ref>

Cassowary strikes to the abdomen are among the rarest of all, but in one case in 1995, a dog was kicked in the belly. The blow left no puncture, but severe bruising occurred. The dog later died from an apparent intestinal rupture.{{sfnp|Kofron|2003|}}

Another human death due to a cassowary was recorded in Florida on April 12, 2019. The bird's owner, a 75-year-old man who had raised the animal, was apparently clawed to death after he fell to the ground.<ref name="HuffPost 04-2019"/><ref>{{cite web | agency = Associated Press  | place = Alachua, Florida, USA | title = Authorities: Large, flightless bird kills its Florida owner | date = April 13, 2019 | work = ABC News | url = https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/large-flightless-bird-kills-florida-owner-62382669 | access-date= 2019-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | place = Alachua, Florida, USA | title = Cassowary kills man at farm near Alachua | date = April 13, 2019 | work = The Gainesville Sun| url = https://www.gainesville.com/news/20190413/cassowary-kills-man-at-farm-near-alachua | access-date= 2019-04-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/1a319ca7adc54e7bb45481ac57b8bc74|title=Cassowary, called 'most dangerous bird', attacks and kills Florida man|last1=Hackney|first1=Deanna|last2=McLaughlin|first2=Eliott C.|date=2019-04-15|website=AP News|access-date=2019-04-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/04/14/cassowary-worlds-dangerous-bird-kills-owner-florida/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/04/14/cassowary-worlds-dangerous-bird-kills-owner-florida/ |archive-date=January 12, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Cassowary, world's 'most dangerous bird', kills owner in Florida|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line-->|date=2019-04-14|work=The Telegraph|access-date=2019-04-16|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last1  = Wenzlow | first1  = N. | last2  = Hamilton | first2 = W. F. | date = 2021-02-18 |title  = Cassowary Fatally Attacks Its Owner  |journal = Abstracts of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Meeting |location=Houston, Texas | pages  = 590 (H 65)  | quote = Normally ... he would hold a 'shock stick' and had a second person with him. On that day ... he was alone and had entered the pen to retrieve one of the female's eggs. During the attack, the victim had fallen to the ground and the attack continued for an unknown period of time. The owner was able to call for help and his outcries alerted his wife, who entered the enclosure with a 'stun gun' to repel the female cassowary. By the time the victim was pulled to safety, he had sustained numerous injuries and had lost a substantial amount of blood. He was rushed to the hospital. ... The patient did not survive his injuries.}}</ref>

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Cited texts ===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite journal |last=Borrell |first=Brendan |title=Invasion of the Cassowaries |journal=Smithsonian Magazine |date=October 2008 |url=http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/phenomena-200810.html |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20121213022722/http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/phenomena-200810.html |archive-date=2012-12-13 }}
* {{cite web | last = Brands | first = Sheila | title = Systema Naturae 2000 / Classification – Genus Casuarius | date = August 14, 2008 | publisher = The Taxonomicon | website = sn2000.taxonomy.nl | url = http://sn2000.taxonomy.nl/Main/Classification/79004.htm | access-date = 2016-09-21 | archive-date = October 5, 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161005142222/http://sn2000.taxonomy.nl/Main/Classification/79004.htm }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Bulmer |first=Ralph |date=March 1967 |title=Why is the Cassowary Not a Bird? A Problem of Zoological Taxonomy Among the Karam of the New Guinea Highlands |journal=Man |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=5–25 |doi=10.2307/2798651 |jstor=2798651 |issn=0025-1496
}}
* {{cite news
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 | date = November 5, 1990}} Cites "authorities" for the death claim.
* {{cite book
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* {{cite journal
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* {{cite book |last=Davies |first=Stephen J.J.F. |author-link=Stephen Davies (ornithologist) |date=2002 |title=Ratites and Tinamous |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-854996-2
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* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Davies |first=Stephen J.J.F. |date=2003 |editor-last=Hutchins |editor-first=Michael |title=Birds I: Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins |encyclopedia=Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia |edition=2nd |volume= 8 |location=Farmington Hills MI |publisher=Gale Group |isbn=0-7876-5784-0
}}
* {{cite book |last1=Diamond |first1=Jared M. |date=March 1997 |title=Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies |publisher=W.W. Norton & Co. |isbn=0-393-03891-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/gunsgermssteelfa0000diam |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book |last=Gilliard |first=E. Thomas |date=1958 |orig-date=1958 |chapter=Cassowaries |title=Living Birds of the World |location=New York City |publisher=Doubleday |url=https://archive.org/details/livingbirdsofwor00gill |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite book
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* {{cite book
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}}
* {{cite journal |last=Kofron |first=Christopher P. |date=December 1999 |title=Attacks to humans and domestic animals by the southern cassowary (''Casuarius casuarius johnsonii'') in Queensland, Australia |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=249 |issue=4 |pages=375–81 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1999.tb01206.x
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* {{cite journal |last=Kofron |first=Christopher P. |date=2003 |title=Case histories of attacks by the southern cassowary in Queensland |journal=Memoirs of the Queensland Museum |volume=49 |issue=1 |pages=335–8 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/54366787 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Kofron |first1=Christopher P. |last2=Chapman |first2=Angela |date=2006 |title=Causes of mortality to the endangered Southern Cassowary ''Casuarius casuarius johnsonii'' in Queensland, Australia |journal=Pacific Conservation Biology |volume=12 |issue=3 |pages=175–9 |doi=10.1071/PC060175 |bibcode=2006PacSB..12..175P |url=http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=787702580497775;res=IELNZC |access-date=January 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171116065549/http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary |archive-date=November 16, 2017 |url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Mack |first1=Andrew L. |last2=Jones |first2=Josh |date=1 October 2003 |title=Low-frequency vocalizations by cassowaries (Casuarius spp.) |journal=The Auk |volume=120 |issue=4 |pages=1062–8 |doi=10.1642/0004-8038(2003)120[1062:LVBCCS]2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=86025843 |url=https://academic.oup.com/auk/search-results?page=1&q=Low-frequency%20vocalizations%20by%20cassowaries&fl_SiteID=6200&SearchSourceType=1&allJournals=1 |url-access=subscription }}
* {{cite journal
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 }}
* {{cite magazine |last=Owen |first=J. |date=2003 |title=Does Rain Forest Bird "Boom" Like a Dinosaur? |magazine=National Geographic News
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* {{cite book |last=Paul |first=Gregory S. |date=1988 |title=Predatory Dinosaurs of the World |location=New York City |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-0-671-61946-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/predatorydinosau00paul |url-access=registration }}
* {{cite journal |last=Perron |first=Richard M. |date=2011 |title=The taxonomic status of Casuarius bennetti papuanus and C. b. westermanni |journal=Bull. B.O.C. |volume=131 |issue=1 |url=http://www.perron.eu/Publications/Bennetti.pdf |access-date=2015-11-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122080324/http://www.perron.eu/Publications/Bennetti.pdf |archive-date=2015-11-22 }}
* {{cite book |last=Perron |first=Richard M. |date=2016 |title=Taxonomy of the Genus Casuarius |publisher=Quantum Conservation |isbn=978-3-86523-272-4 
}}
* {{cite journal
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 | url=https://archive.org/details/sim_nature-uk_1875-10-14_12_311/page/516
 | author=Sclater, P. L.
 | date=October 14, 1875
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* {{cite book
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* {{cite journal |last1=Webber |first1=Bruce L. |last2=Woodrow |first2=Ian E. |date=2 June 2004 |title=Cassowary frugivory, seed defleshing and fruit fly infestation influence the transition from seed to seedling in the rare Australian rainforest tree, Ryparosa sp. nov. 1 (Achariaceae) |journal=Functional Plant Biology |volume=31 |issue=5 |pages=505–16 |doi=10.1071/FP03214 |pmid=32688922
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{{refend}}

== Further wording ==
* Rothschild, Walter (1899). [https://archive.org/details/monographofgenus00roth ''A Monograph of the Genus Casuarius'']. ''[[Transactions of the Zoological Society of London]]'', vol. 15, pt. 5, December 1900.

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|cassowary}}
* {{cite web |title=C4 Community for Coastal and Cassowary Conservation |url=https://www.cassowaryconservation.asn.au/ |access-date=2023-04-19}}
* {{Vimeo |id=4441022 |title=Cassowary and chicks drinking water}}
* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/cassowaries-casuariidae Cassowary videos, photos and sounds] on the Internet Bird Collection {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160412061244/http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/cassowaries-casuariidae |date=April 12, 2016 }}
* {{cite Americana|wstitle=Cassowary|first=Ernest |last=Ingersoll|author-link=Ernest Ingersoll|short=x |ref=none}}
* {{cite web |title=Raising the World's Deadliest Bird |website=BirdNote |date=2023-03-17 |url=https://www.birdnote.org/listen/shows/raising-worlds-deadliest-bird |access-date=2023-04-19 |ref=none}}
* {{cite web |title=Southern cassowary - Casuarius casuarius |publisher=ARKive |date=2004-08-05 |url=http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/birds/Casuarius_casuarius/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060503085739/http://www.arkive.org/species/GES/birds/Casuarius_casuarius/ |archive-date=2006-05-03 |ref=none |access-date=2023-04-19}}

{{Casuariiformes}}
{{Palaeognathae|N.}}
{{Meat|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q201231}}

[[Category:Casuarius| ]]
[[Category:Birds of New Guinea]]
[[Category:Extant Zanclean first appearances]]
[[Category:Flightless birds]]
[[Category:Apex predators]]