Report a Cassowary sighting and/or Casso Poo

The Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius johnsonii) is in crisis. Current estimates suggest less than 1500 birds exist in the wild. A number of factors are contributing to the bird’s demise, but habitat loss is probably the greatest. Reporting a cassowary sighting helps researchers.

Male adult, Dad, crossing a Kuranda creek.

It will also help if you can report sightings of cassowary scats/droppings/stools (we usually just call it poo), as this is more frequently observed than the birds. These ready-made piles of fertilizer contain large numbers of seeds from rainforest plants ready to start a new life. The cassowary is the best distributor of larger seeds in the forest, carrying them long distances before they pass through its system.

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Casso scat containing a variety of seeds

Collecting this information will enable the development of an evidence-based management recovery plan. Help preserve cassowaries by contacting us.

Please tell us as much as you about the location. GPS co-ordinates are great but not essential. A description of the location can include for example, the name of the track (if there is one) or the road from which the track starts; the name of the road, the distance along the road from a town, a creek, or a junction (e.g., Smithfield roundabout); or the number on an adjacent electricity pole.

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Where did you sight one?

The information you provide is not made public, i.e., your name/alias, email or details regarding the specific location of the cassowaries. The data is collated in a database for research purposes.

General information about how to identify birds.

Please provide as much of the following information as you can, in the text box of the contact form below, but any information is of great help.

Report a Cassowary sighting

Your name or ID
Email (and contact phone number if you wish)
Date of sighting
Time
Location
Description of bird/s (adult/sub adult/juvenile/chick and male or female (if known). Males have a drooping ‘tail’ of feathers, females do not – it is often hard to tell though
Description of poo (wet, dry, diameter)
Please let us know if you have photos through the form below which you would like to email
Any other information you think might be useful, e.g. do you see the birds often, were they doing something interesting, e.g. eating a particular fruit, running.