The Time Has Come

I haven't had much to say about the cassowaries this year. But they have been around since the first noted sighting in late November, 2012. It's remarkable that they and their parents have survived to this point. A procession of heavy vehicles associated with logging on Black Mountain Road meant that every time they crossed, they had to take a risk of being hit. Mr Cassowary surely is road savvy. We hear he has been around for some 40 years and during this period he has brought from 1-3 chicks to adulthood nearly every year. This year we have three and today they appeared without Pops for the first time. He showed up later in the afternoon. We suspect that he is not far off when the young are driven off--just to be sure they are not harmed.

The chicks are very wary and appear bewildered. They scrap a bit amongst themselves. They will not understand why their protective father has suddenly become the "enemy".

It's a big world out there. The lessons provided by the father will serve the young cassowaries well if they have been good students. There are many skills that have been learned but the hazards are many--wild dogs, pigs, cars, falling trees, barbed wire and potential shortage of food. These young will be driven off the resident pair's territory and will have to establish a territory of their own. It would really be interesting to know where each ends up.