Translate

Friday 15 May 2009

Cassowary Calendar 2009 #1

It is with great relief that we report the return of the Cassowaries to our property. We have not seen them since last August. Up till then, they were wandering through each day, sometimes more than once. We had all sorts of negative thoughts as to what might have happened to them. The worst case scenario was that they had been hit by a car or that the loose dogs in the neighborhood had chased them away. The latter seems quite probable as these birds are susceptible to attacks from dogs. They can handle themselves if confronted by a single dog but if more than one is threatening them, they are usually goners. Neighbours across the street pay no heed to the leash laws and their dogs are frequently on our property. Other residents have seen them chasing the Cassowaries. We hope to be able to report on their presence regularly now.

Seeing the pair together might suggest that the courting season is upon us. If this is the case, the male will disappear for about 6 weeks while he incubates the eggs and then he will emerge with the season's hatchlings. Let's hope........

6 comments:

Camera Trap Codger said...

All's well that ends well. Glad that your buddies are back.

Stefan Schmidt said...

Great news, and great birds!

randomtruth said...

Luckies! I sooo wanted to see them when I visited the Daintree. Maybe next trip.

Mike said...

Brilliant! Cassowaries are endlessly fascinating.

Beth said...

Wonderful - I am quite envious!

Toscana said...

Phone the pound officer at Mareeba branch of council every time you see dogs loose. They will have to do something eventually if you annoy them enough. Ask sympathetic neighbours to do so as well on the same day. Persistence will pay off.