Australia's fearsome “dinosaur-bird” faces extinction June 5, 2024

The Australian government classifies the cassowaries as endangered and estimates that around 4,500 remain in the wild (DAVID GRAY)

By AFP - Agence France Presse

Australia's fearsome “dinosaur-bird” faces extinction

With legs like those of a velociraptor and an impressive neon blue neck, the southern cassowary is a fearsome figure in the rainforests of northeastern Australia.

It's best to admire these human-sized birds - and their sharp 10-centimeter claws - from afar.

“It's a modern dinosaur,” said Peter Rowles, the stalwart chairman of a community group that protects endangered birds.

Fiercely territorial, when threatened, they hiss and make a deep rumble.

“When you first look at them eye to eye, it can be intimidating, because they have big eyes, they look straight at you and they look a bit ferocious,” said Rowles.

These flightless birds are only found in Australia, New Guinea, and some Pacific islands.

The Australian government classifies them as endangered and estimates that around 4,500 remain in the wild.

They are considered a “keystone species”, which means they play a vital role in maintaining biodiversity and helping spread seeds in the rainforest.

If the cassowaries become extinct, the rainforests will suffer.

“We thought that if we could save the cassowaries, we could also save enough habitat to keep many other species alive,” Rowles explained.

His group is doing what it can to save these formidable birds, which are 1.5 meters tall and can weigh up to 75 kilos.

This includes making signs urging drivers to slow down, redesigning roads to better protect native habitats, and running a cassowary hospital for injured birds.

The main threats to the cassowary are being run over, deforestation of native habitats, dog attacks, and climate change.

“Casuaries are not aggressive when they are well cared for,” said Rowles, with few records of deaths caused by the species.

A young Australian man was killed in 1926 after chasing a bird, which severed his jugular vein, while a Florida man died in 2019 when his pet cassowary attacked him.

- 'Naturally cranky birds'.

In the last 300 years, around 100 of Australia's unique species of flora and fauna have been wiped off the planet.

This extinction rate is likely to increase, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

“There is a lot to be done and there are no resources available to make a significant impact,” said Darren Grover, WWF Australia's acting director of conservation.

“We're looking at around 2,000 species on the Australian government's threatened species list and more and more species are being added to that list every year,” he added.

Threats include climate change, habitat loss, and invasive species, Grover said.

The Australian government has a national recovery plan underway to save the iconic cassowary bird - as it does with many other species - which includes working with indigenous and conservation groups.

Much of the country's conservation efforts focus on protecting keystone species, a concept developed by zoologists in the 1960s.

Grover said that this is the best approach when resources are limited, as it provides flow-on effects for other animals in that habitat.

But this strategy can only go so far, he warned: “I don't think we'll ever do enough to save our wildlife in Australia.”

“The cassowaries are amazing species and whenever you see them in the wild it's fantastic,” he said.

“But be careful, as they are naturally fussy birds, they are big and powerful and we need to give them some space.”

By Laura CHUNG

lec/arb/rsc