Going Going Gone? The Plight of the Southern Cassowary By Ruth Rosenhek

The endangered Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) perches on the edge of extinction with perhaps as few as 1000 remaining in the tropical rainforests of Far North Queensland.

The Wet Tropics depend on the Southern Cassowary to disperse and germinate seeds of up to 150 rainforest plant species as these majestic birds are one of only a few frugivores that can disperse large rainforest fruits and are the only long distance dispersal mechanism for large seeded fruits.

But despite grave warnings from scientists and conservationists, the Cassowary's numbers continue to plummet. And if the Cassowary becomes extinct, so too would much of the rainforest ecology.

The primary threats to these ancient flightless birds are loss of habitat and road kill associated with development. The increase of traffic through Cassowary habitat has resulted in 60 Cassowaries being killed over the past 15 years. In the last 7 months alone, 4 adult cassowaries were killed on roads near Mission Beach.

Dog attack and obstacles to free movement in the landscape such as fences are also major threats being introduced by residential development.

At Mission Beach, subdivisions are creating more than 1000 new residential blocks and in the Daintree, 185 rainforest properties are zoned for development. Clearing and development of these properties would cut off essential wildlife corridors and severely fragment prime Cassowary habitat.

The Rainforest Information Centre is urging the Federal Government to provide 60 million dollars in funding to buy back the remaining undeveloped properties in the Daintree and Mission Beach, vital primary habitat for the Cassowary.

Cassowaries have a reputation for being dangerous to people and domestic animals.. However, it is us humans who are imperilling this beautiful bird and their forest homes; the fate of the Southern Cassowary in Far North Queensland rests in our hands.

Please visit www.savethecassowary.org.au and take action now by sending a letter to Minister Garrett or email enquiries@savethecassowary.org.au to request postcards for you and your friends to sign

FAME is considering an application to help save the Southern Cassowary. You can help us in our fight to save not only the Cassowary, but many other endangered Australian plants and animals that are on the brink of extinction. Please send your generous donation via our secure site today