World Cassowary Day is held on the 26th of September every year to celebrate the endangered Southern Cassowary and all efforts to prevent its extinction. For World Cassowary Day 2022 we've created four actions you can take to Save the Cassowary! 

By Kelvin Davies and Karina Miotto

It's estimated that throughout Australia's wet tropical rainforest there are only 4,000 Cassowaries remaining in the wild. To ensure they survive your help is urgently needed. 

Here are 4 things you can do to Save the Cassowary!

1, Purchase and protect Cassowary habitat.

We know the number one threat to the Cassowary is the loss of habitat so protecting all remaining tropical rainforest is the highest priority. We have purchased 25 freehold properties in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest so they can be managed for conservation. See them here.

We are ready to buy the next property and need your help! Every $2.50 you donate will help purchase 1 sqm of the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. Please, make a one-off donation now to help purchase the next Daintree Rainforest property for conservation. With a recurring donation, you can make a commitment to the purchase of rainforests every month! Please, donate here.  

2, Plant a tree to restore Cassowary habitat 

Restoring habitat is vitally important and we are ready to plant another 1,000 trees to restore the Cassowary habitat in the Daintree Lowland Rainforest. See the project here. This will help the Daintree rainforest recover from the impacts of fragmentation. The cost of growing, planting, and maintenance for one tree is $10. Please, plant a tree for the endangered Cassowary and donate now.

3, Slow down in Cassowary Country.

Please drive slowly when traveling in Cassowary Country as many birds are killed by vehicle strikes. 

4, Please don't feed these big birds. 

It's said a fed bird is a dead bird as they will see humans as a source of food. Tourists don't like having Cassowaries share their lunch and we don't want Cassowaries coming onto roads and into urban areas where they can be attacked and killed by dogs. 

More about our wonderful Cassowaries

The Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) is a large flightless bird that in Australia is found only in the wet tropical rainforests of Queensland. The Southern Cassowary is listed as Endangered by the Queensland and Australian Governments. Animals listed as Endangered by the Queensland and Australian Governments are considered to have a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.

The Southern Cassowary is listed as Vulnerable on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. Established in 1964, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant species. Animals listed as vulnerable on the Red List are considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.

Plant a tree and help save the Cassowary

According to The Wet Tropics Management Authority, the organisation charged with managing the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area, the Wet Tropics population of the southern cassowary is still in decline. 

Southern Cassowary and chicks crossing Cape Tribulation Road

Land clearing, particularly in the coastal lowlands and the Atherton Tablelands where our buyback program operates, has significantly reduced cassowary habitat over the last century. Although the rate of habitat loss has slowed, the population is still threatened by the impacts of fragmentation and other ongoing issues, such as:

• Continued loss of habitat through clearing for residential settlement and agricultural expansion
• Fragmented habitat (especially from roads and subdivisions)
• Vehicle traffic (road kills are the number one cause of adult cassowary deaths)
• Dogs (which are especially aggressive to chicks and juveniles)
• Feral pigs (impact on their habitat)
• Cyclones are a natural part of the Wet Tropics ecosystem, but combined with the other threats mentioned above, can lead to an increase in the death of cassowaries.

Slow down when driving in Cassowary habitat