December 28, 2007

Dinosaur in PNG- Cassowaries

Cassowary is one of the largest birds in the world.
It is a family of Ostrich (in Africa) and Emu (in Australia), but Cassowaries have much more fierce looking than its relatives.Among the 3 species of Cassowaries found in Papua New Guinea, the Southern (Double Wattled) Cassowary is the largest (up to 1.9m), heaviest, and has most scary look. - That is why I have personally named it as Dinosaur in PNG !
It is very territorial birds, and can fight with others with the high, blade like casque on its head, and can run at maximum speed of 50km/hour. So when you meet the Cassowary in the wilderness, it is no use trying to escape from it.... (please be assured that it is not carnivorous and will not be interested in human being)
*Photo taken at National Capital Botanical Garden, Port Moresby

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would like to hear from anyone with information on cassowary numbers in PNG.

Beville

bevel7@ypg.com.au

HK said...

I am not sure if anybody has done a biologoical research on the number of Cassowary in PNG, but it is certaily one of the endangered species.
It is common to eat Cassoway in Highlands,- Although I have never tasted it, people say it is strong meat but nice, - population pressure is affecting the number of Cassowary.
They are very shy and hard to see during the daytime but still live in the lowland & highland forest and places like National Parks: we sometimes see the footsteps & droppings of Cassowary even in the National park near Port Moresby.