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Southern Cassowary (Casuarius casuarius)

The southern cassowary is a large, flightless rainforest bird found in Queensland, mainly in the Wet Tropics and several Cape York subpopulations. It is listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act and in Queensland. On development sites, clearing, roads, fencing, dogs, altered water access and disturbance can affect feeding areas, movement corridors, breeding sites and access to shelter.

Conservation status

Commonwealth, EPBC Act 1999: Endangered.

Queensland, Nature Conservation Act 1992: Endangered.

Breeding season

Timing varies with fruit availability and local conditions, and breeding can occur outside the usual period. The seasonal pattern below is a planning guide for Queensland populations, not a substitute for checking active nests, dependent young and current cassowary signs before works.

Before clearing or high-disturbance work, use area searches or transects in suitable habitat and look for sightings, rumbling calls, dung and footprints. For areas of 50 ha or less, the EPBC bird survey guidance recommends at least 20 person-hours over 10 days, with survey timing and effort adjusted for seasonal use.

  • Breeding, mating and laying: Breeding usually occurs from June to October. Females lay 3 to 5 eggs on the ground, and the male incubates the clutch.
  • Young dependent with male: Males raise chicks alone for about 9 to 18 months. Young may still be dependent outside the usual breeding months.
  • Juvenile dispersal and local movement: Juveniles leave the male and seek their own home range, often around the onset of the next breeding season. Adults are generally sedentary after establishing a territory but may travel more than 4 km a day to reach resources.
  • Post-cyclone movement and altered feeding: Movement is not restricted to a fixed month. After cyclones or food shortages, birds may use non-rainforest habitat, isolated fragments and corridors that are not usually used.
  • Highest clearing risk: Risk is highest from June to October because breeding, ground nests, incubation and newly hatched chicks may be present. Risk remains elevated at other times because dependent young may remain with the male for 9 to 18 months and active nests may occur outside the usual season.

Identification

Southern cassowaries are unmistakable when seen, but they are secretive in dense rainforest and may be detected more often by tracks, dung or calls than by direct observation.

Adults are very large, heavy-bodied and flightless, with glossy black, hair-like body feathers. The head and upper neck have bare blue and purple skin, with red wattles and a tall greyish to brown casque on the head. The legs are powerful and each foot has three toes, including a large blade-like inner claw.

Chicks are striped yellow, brown and cream or dark brown and creamy white. The stripes fade after about 3 to 6 months, when the bird develops brown juvenile plumage. Adult colour develops progressively as the bird matures.

Height: Up to 2 m

Male weight: Up to about 55 kg

Female weight: Up to about 75 to 76 kg

Adult plumage: Glossy black body, blue and purple neck, red wattles and a casque

Identification: Sexes and similar species

Females are generally larger, more brightly coloured and may have a taller casque than males. Both sexes have the same basic adult pattern of black plumage, blue and purple bare skin, red wattles and a casque.

The species is unlikely to be confused with an emu in suitable Queensland habitat. Cassowaries have a casque, brightly coloured blue and red bare skin on the head and neck, two wattles and a heavier body. Emus lack these features.

Identification: Field signs

Look for large dung piles containing many intact fruit seeds. Dung is often conspicuous on rainforest tracks and roads. Search for three-toed footprints in soft soil or mud, with adult tracks about 180 mm long.

Calls are deep rumbles and grunts. A cassowary may be heard before it is seen, particularly in dense vegetation or when responding to a perceived threat.

Nests are ground scrapes with olive-green eggs, usually near the base of a large tree or stump. The surrounding nest site commonly has a closed understorey of vines, regrowth or dense grass. Recorded nests are generally used only once.

Adult footprint: Approximately 180 mm in soft soil or mud

Nest position: On the ground, usually near a large tree or stump

  • Record dung, footprints, sightings and distinctive rumbling or grunting calls during searches.
  • Inspect dense ground cover near large trees or stumps for a nest scrape, while avoiding disturbance.
  • Treat a failure to detect the species as not detected rather than proof of absence.

Distribution: Queensland range

In Australia, the southern cassowary occurs only in Queensland. Its Australian range is centred on north Queensland rainforests and associated vegetation, with the largest population component in the Wet Tropics.

The Wet Tropics population extends from the Cooktown area south to just north of Townsville, including coastal lowlands, rainforest margins, uplands and highlands. Core areas include the coastal lowlands between Mossman and Ingham, the southern Atherton Tablelands and other rainforest ranges.

Cape York birds occur in disjunct vine-forest areas, including the McIlwraith and Iron Ranges and the Shelburne Bay area. Historical records also include the far northern Cape York region, although occurrence there is less secure.

  • Wet Tropics bioregion: rainforest and associated vegetation from Cooktown to north of Townsville.
  • Cape York Peninsula: vine forests of the McIlwraith and Iron Ranges and Shelburne Bay, with additional historical or less secure records in far northern Cape York.

Distribution: Strongholds and population

The Australian population is divided into three broad subpopulations in Queensland: the Wet Tropics population and two Cape York populations. Historical forest clearing has reduced occupancy and fragmented habitat, particularly in the Wet Tropics lowlands and Atherton Tablelands.

A 2012 to 2014 estimate placed the Wet Tropics population at about 4,400 individuals. The 2018 scorecard estimated about 4,000 mature birds in the Wet Tropics and 1,000 to 2,000 mature birds in Cape York, with the overall population considered generally stable at that time.

Australian states: Queensland only

Broad Australian subpopulations: Three: Wet Tropics and two Cape York subpopulations

Wet Tropics estimate: About 4,400 birds in 2012 to 2014

2018 mature bird estimate: About 4,000 in the Wet Tropics and 1,000 to 2,000 in Cape York

Recent trend: Generally stable, with medium confidence for the 2015 to 2018 assessment

Habitat: Vegetation communities

Southern cassowaries depend mainly on complex tropical rainforest, but use a wider vegetation mosaic for food, water, shelter and movement. A site can remain important even when it is outside a large rainforest patch.

Primary and regrowth rainforest provide the main habitat. Cassowaries also use melaleuca woodland, swamp and swamp forest, mangroves, eucalypt woodland, disturbed vegetation, grassland, savanna, palm forest and exotic fruit plantations when these areas provide food or links between habitat patches.

They occur from coastal lowlands to uplands and highlands, and can use rainforest margins and the western rainforest edge. They are more common in lowland rainforest but may occur at all altitudes within their Queensland range.

  • Retain rainforest patches and associated fruiting vegetation.
  • Assess non-rainforest vegetation where it links rainforest patches, provides fruit after cyclones or contains water.
  • Treat riparian vegetation and open areas as potential movement habitat rather than assuming that only closed forest is used.

Habitat: Structural features

Suitable habitat generally has dense foliage cover, a high diversity of fruiting plants, access to fresh water and quiet areas for resting. Large connected foraging patches are important, with the EPBC guidance identifying connected patches larger than 5 ha as a key habitat feature.

Corridors may include remnant or regenerated vegetation, riparian areas, water bodies and open ground. Cassowaries may move along riparian corridors for 2 to 3 km between habitat patches.

Connected foraging patch: More than 5 ha is identified as an important feature

Riparian movement: Individuals, including dispersing young, may move 2 to 3 km along riparian corridors

Resting conditions: Quiet and dark habitat, particularly at night

  • Map rainforest, fruiting plants, water sources, dense understorey and likely movement links before clearing.
  • Check habitat within 100 m of mapped potential cassowary habitat and watercourses within or adjacent to habitat, as these areas may contribute to site use.
  • Avoid reducing a habitat patch below 5 ha or separating suitable patches by more than 100 m where the EPBC guidance applies.

Foraging habitat: Diet and feeding method

Foraging habitat is defined by the availability of fleshy fruit across the year, not only by the presence of mature rainforest. Cassowaries usually take fruit from the ground and may change feeding areas as fruit crops change.

Fallen fleshy fruit is the main food. Cassowaries also eat invertebrates, plants, fungi, carrion and small vertebrates when available. Seeds commonly pass through the bird intact, allowing long-distance dispersal of large rainforest seeds.

A cassowary generally feeds alone and may forage in the early morning and late afternoon. It may travel more than 4 km in a day to reach changing food and water resources.

Recorded plant foods: Fleshy fruit from more than 238 to 240 plant species

Daily movement: May travel more than 4 km in a day to access resources

Main feeding period: Often early morning and late afternoon

  • Search for fallen fruit, fruiting trees and seed-rich dung when assessing feeding habitat.
  • Retain fruiting plants in rainforest, riparian areas, swamp vegetation and connected regrowth.
  • Consider non-rainforest feeding areas after cyclones or other events that reduce rainforest fruit supplies.

Foraging habitat: Food plants and seasonal resources

The species requires a diverse supply of fleshy fruit through the year. It feeds on native rainforest plants and can also use exotic fruit plantations and some weeds, including pond apple. Use of pond apple does not make the weed suitable for retention, because pond apple can dominate cassowary habitat.

Food areas may be used briefly during particular fruiting periods but still form part of an individual’s home range. After cyclones, isolated fragments and non-rainforest vegetation may become more important.

Coastal lowland home range: About 0.52 to 5.76 km2

Upland home range: May reach about 12 km2

Known exotic food: Fruit plantations and some weed species, including pond apple

  • Record fruiting species and the timing of fruit availability during habitat assessments.
  • Do not assume that a site is unimportant because fruiting is absent during one survey.
  • Assess feeding habitat within the wider home range, not only within the construction footprint.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Breeding sites are ground nests in rainforest or woodland mosaics that include rainforest elements. Nesting habitat can occur in primary or regrowth vegetation and may be close to large trees or stumps.

The female selects a male and may mate with more than one male during the breeding season. She lays the eggs directly on the ground. The male incubates the clutch and raises the chicks alone.

Young remain with the male for about 9 to 18 months. Juveniles then leave to establish or seek their own home range, and dispersing young may use corridors between habitat patches.

Breeding season: Usually June to October, with some breeding outside this period

Clutch size: Usually 3 to 5 olive-green eggs

Incubation: About 50 days

Parental care: The male incubates the eggs and raises the chicks alone

Age at maturity: About 2.5 years for males and 3.5 years for females

Lifespan: Approximately 30 years in the wild; captive records range from 18 to 50 years

Dependent period: Young remain with the male for about 9 to 18 months

Breeding habitat: Nest habitat

All recorded nests have been in rainforest or woodland mosaics with rainforest elements. Nests are usually at the base of a large tree or stump, on bare ground, with nearby vines, regrowth or dense grass providing a closed understorey.

Nests appear to be used only once. A site with suitable structure may still be important if a nest is not present during a particular inspection.

  • Inspect the base of large trees and stumps in dense understorey before clearing.
  • Avoid clearing or heavy disturbance around an active nest and seek direction from the relevant Queensland wildlife authority.
  • Retain connected vegetation around nesting areas so the male can move between the nest, shelter and feeding sites.

Sheltering habitat: Resting cover

Southern cassowaries rest on the ground in forest and require quiet, dark cover at night. They do not use tree hollows, dens or burrows.

Suitable shelter includes dense rainforest, high foliage cover, closed understorey, vines, regrowth and dense grass thickets. Resting areas may occur in rainforest and associated vegetation within an individual’s home range.

Noise and artificial light can disrupt or stress cassowaries. Disturbance near night-time resting areas should therefore be controlled during construction and operation.

Roost type: Ground roost in forest or dense vegetation

Known hollow, den or burrow use: None identified; the species is a ground-roosting bird

Preferred night conditions: Quiet and dark habitat

  • Retain dense ground and mid-storey cover where it connects feeding areas, water and breeding habitat.
  • Keep night lighting and construction noise away from dense forest edges and known cassowary use areas.
  • Do not assume that an open area is unused if it links forest patches or provides access to water.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The main development risks are loss and fragmentation of rainforest, blocked movement, vehicle strikes, dog attacks and disturbance around food, water and breeding areas. Risks are greatest where development enters lowland habitat, riparian links or established cassowary movement areas.

More than 80 per cent of coastal lowland cassowary habitat has been lost. Remaining habitat is fragmented, which can isolate groups, separate feeding and breeding areas and increase the distance birds travel between resources.

Clearing includes removal of canopy, mid-storey or understorey that reduces habitat quality. Roads, fences, drainage channels, powerlines, service infrastructure and subdivision can divide habitat even where the total area cleared is small.

EPBC guidance threshold in potential habitat: Clearing more than 1,500 m2 for purposes other than a single dwelling on an existing lot is identified as a potential significant impact

Corridor patch threshold: Avoid reducing a corridor patch below 5 ha

Potential habitat assessment buffer: Map 2 habitat plus a 100 m buffer

Watercourse assessment buffer: Watercourses within, adjacent to or linking habitat, plus a 50 m buffer from the bank

  • Avoid clearing rainforest, connected regrowth, riparian vegetation, fruiting plants and mapped or observed movement corridors.
  • Treat clearing of any amount in watercourses and corridor habitat as a potential impact requiring site-specific assessment.
  • Do not reduce a habitat patch below 5 ha, separate patches by more than 100 m or reduce corridor width or links without assessing the effect on cassowary movement.
  • Use the precautionary principle where suitable habitat is present but surveys have not adequately covered seasonal use.

Threats: Roads, traffic and access

Roads can kill cassowaries directly, block movement, create edge effects and increase access by people and dogs. Road mortality has been a major issue around Mission Beach, where 28 birds, or 76 per cent of recorded deaths, were killed on roads between 2001 and 2005.

Traffic risk increases where roads cross local or regional movement corridors, known crossing points or habitat used after cyclones. Road upgrades and increased traffic volume can also reduce access to feeding and water sites.

Road speed identified in EPBC guidance: Road or vehicle-track development above 60 km/h in specified high-risk areas requires particular scrutiny

Mission Beach recorded road deaths: 28 birds, representing 76 per cent of recorded deaths, from 2001 to 2005

  • Avoid new roads and tracks through habitat or corridors where practicable.
  • Use proven traffic calming, appropriate speed limits, temporary or variable signage and fauna-sensitive road design at crossing points.
  • Assess underpasses and overpasses as part of a whole-road design rather than relying on signs alone.
  • Do not create fencing or corridors that funnel cassowaries towards roads.

Threats: Dogs, people and introduced animals

Domestic dogs can injure or kill cassowaries and can cause birds to avoid feeding or movement areas even when no attack occurs. Chicks and sub-adults are particularly vulnerable. Hand feeding increases contact with people, roads and dogs and can lead to aggressive interactions.

Feral pigs may destroy nests, eat eggs, compete for food and contribute to fencing or trapping hazards, although their population-level effect is not established. Farm biosecurity fences can also block movement.

  • Keep dogs out of cassowary habitat and corridors, and keep dogs secured or on a lead and under supervision outside properties.
  • Do not feed cassowaries or provide food that attracts them towards roads, houses or construction compounds.
  • Check pig traps, farm fencing and temporary construction fencing for entrapment and movement risks.
  • Design fencing only where it provides a demonstrated benefit and does not fragment habitat, block escape routes or funnel birds towards traffic.

Threats: Fire, weeds, water and disease

Weed invasion, including pond apple, and changed fire regimes can reduce shelter, breeding-site quality and fruit resources. Severe fires can progressively damage rainforest, particularly on steep slopes.

Cassowaries require fresh water for drinking and bathing many times a day. Drainage, fencing, roads or construction that reduces access, changes water flow or reduces water quality can affect habitat use and movement.

Known diseases include aspergillosis, avian tuberculosis and internal parasites. Stress, poor nutrition and contact with contaminated soil or water may increase disease concerns for affected birds.

  • Prevent the introduction and spread of weeds through vehicles, machinery, fill and revegetation materials.
  • Avoid fire regimes that damage rainforest cover, dense understorey or fruiting plants.
  • Maintain access to fresh water and protect water quality and natural flow during earthworks and drainage works.
  • Report sick, injured or dead cassowaries through the relevant Queensland wildlife arrangements and apply hygiene controls where carcasses or contaminated material are present.

Survey methodology: 1. Area searches and transects

Survey the site and nearby habitat before clearing or construction. Southern cassowaries are shy, can occur at low density, and may use a site seasonally or when fruit resources fail elsewhere, so a non-detection is not proof of absence. [No source ids in text]

Use area searches or transect surveys in suitable rainforest and associated vegetation, including woodland, swamp, melaleuca, mangrove, disturbed habitat and corridors.

Search for cassowaries, distinctive three-toed footprints, dung, feathers, nests and calls. Cassowary dung and footprints can establish presence where birds are not seen.

Include the site and adjoining habitat, particularly riparian vegetation, well-used tracks, roadsides, fruiting plants and links between habitat patches.

Minimum effort for areas up to 50 hectares: 20 person hours over 10 days

Key detection evidence: Sightings, calls, dung, footprints, feathers, nests and local records

  • For areas of 50 hectares or less, use at least 20 person hours over 10 days.
  • Spread the effort across different days rather than completing a short intensive search on one day.
  • Record habitat condition, food plants, water sources, potential nesting areas, tracks, crossings and links to retained habitat.
  • Use a suitably qualified ecologist and adjust the method and effort where season, weather, access or habitat reduces the chance of detection.

Survey methodology: 2. Timing and survey conditions

Plan surveys across seasons where the site may be used intermittently or where fruit availability changes through the year.

Give particular attention to the breeding period, generally June to October, while recognising that breeding can occur at other times.

Search during periods when tracks, dung and other signs are likely to remain identifiable, and document rain, flooding, cyclone damage, fruit availability and other conditions that may affect use of the site.

Use local records and community knowledge to identify seasonal use, recent road crossings and use after cyclones or other major disturbance.

Typical breeding period: June to October

Movement and home range: Home ranges may be 0.52 to 5.76 square kilometres in coastal lowlands and up to 12 square kilometres in upland habitat

Daily movement: Individuals may travel more than 4 kilometres in a day

  • Do not conclude that cassowaries are absent because they are not detected during a short survey.
  • Treat suitable mapped habitat as potentially occupied unless survey evidence and other information support a different conclusion.
  • Consider early morning and late afternoon observations because cassowaries are often seen near roads at these times, while also completing searches for indirect signs throughout the survey period.

Survey methodology: 3. Habitat and records assessment

Check the site against current potential cassowary habitat mapping and validate mapped habitat on the ground.

Assess rainforest, connected patches larger than 5 hectares, riparian corridors, water sources, fruiting plants, quiet night habitat and ground nesting areas.

Check records held by state and local government agencies, the Wet Tropics Management Authority, universities, local councils and recognised community groups.

Assess habitat beyond the immediate clearing footprint because cassowary habitat and movement corridors can extend beyond mapped boundaries.

Potential habitat assessment buffer: 100 metres beyond mapped potential habitat

Watercourse assessment buffer: 50 metres from the bank where watercourses are within, adjacent to or linking potential habitat

Connected foraging habitat: Patches larger than 5 hectares are important to retain

  • Inspect up to 100 metres beyond mapped potential habitat where the action may affect habitat, and inspect watercourses within, adjacent to or linking habitat with attention to the 50 metre bank buffer used in the significant impact guidance.
  • Map potential corridors even where they are not shown on the published habitat map, including riparian links, water bodies, strategic open space and routes between food resources.
  • Record whether roads, fencing, drainage, powerlines or service infrastructure could isolate habitat or restrict access to water.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

National status: Endangered under the EPBC Act

Queensland status: Wet Tropics population Endangered; Cape York populations Vulnerable

  • Prepare a survey report showing dates, personnel, weather, methods, search effort, tracks, transects, records, photographs, mapped habitat, water sources, corridors and survey limitations.
  • Report a non-detection as ‘not detected’ unless the evidence supports a defensible absence assessment.
  • Submit confirmed records and significant signs to the relevant Queensland or other state wildlife database, and provide records to the relevant local and state agencies.
  • Use the precautionary approach where the recommended method, timing or effort could not be achieved.
  • Refer the proposed action under the EPBC Act before clearing if it may have a significant impact on this endangered species, and seek state and local advice before work starts.

Before habitat disturbance: 1. Avoid and minimise habitat impacts

Avoid habitat loss first, then reduce disturbance, fragmentation, road risk, dog attacks and loss of access to water. Design the project around retained habitat and movement routes before finalising the clearing footprint.

Significant impact clearing example: More than 1,500 square metres in potential habitat for purposes other than a single dwelling on an existing lot

Corridor design guidance: Aim for a 5:1 length to width ratio and at least 200 metres width where development abuts both sides

  • Retain rainforest, connected foraging habitat, fruiting plants, water access, quiet night habitat, ground nesting areas and movement corridors.
  • Avoid clearing in potential habitat where possible, including canopy, mid-storey and understorey removal that reduces habitat quality.
  • Do not reduce a habitat patch below 5 hectares, separate patches by more than 100 metres, reduce corridor width or remove corridor links.
  • Keep riparian movement routes connected and maintain access to fresh water used for drinking and bathing.
  • Locate roads, tracks, easements, drainage, fencing and services outside habitat and corridors where practicable.
  • Treat any proposed clearing above 1,500 square metres in potential habitat as a significant impact risk, unless the specific guidance exception applies to a single dwelling on an existing lot.

Before habitat disturbance: 2. Approvals and project planning

EPBC referral decision timeframe: The minister decides within 20 business days whether approval is required

Relevant breeding period: Generally June to October

  • Check the action against the EPBC Act significant impact guidance before clearing, construction or infrastructure work begins.
  • Refer the action to the Australian Government where there is a real chance or possibility of a significant impact, and wait for the referral decision before proceeding where required.
  • Obtain Queensland or other relevant state approvals, permits and local government permissions for clearing, fauna handling, road works, watercourse works and wildlife rehabilitation.
  • Prepare a cassowary-specific fauna management plan covering survey results, exclusion zones, clearing sequence, machinery controls, spotter catcher duties, incidents, road controls, dogs, fencing and rehabilitation.
  • Stage works so retained habitat, water access and alternative movement routes remain available throughout construction.
  • Avoid high-risk works during periods of seasonal food shortage or immediately after cyclones where cassowaries may move into unusual areas, unless the approved management plan provides suitable controls.

Before habitat disturbance: 3. Pre-clearance preparation

Ground nesting: Nests are on the ground, usually near large trees or stumps in rainforest or woodland mosaics

Fencing restriction: Do not use fencing that blocks movement, causes entrapment or funnels cassowaries towards roads

  • Complete a pre-clearance inspection immediately before work, including a search for cassowaries, dung, footprints, calls, nests, tracks, food plants, water access and movement routes.
  • Mark no-go areas, retained habitat, riparian buffers, corridors, water sources and any active or recently used nesting area on plans and on the ground.
  • Brief all workers on cassowary identification, safe behaviour, the no-feeding rule, speed limits, dog exclusion and stop-work procedures.
  • Install exclusion fencing only where it will not fragment habitat, block movement, isolate birds, funnel birds towards roads or prevent escape.
  • Use barriers, signage and traffic controls to prevent machinery, vehicles and workers entering retained habitat.
  • Keep domestic dogs and other dogs used on the project out of cassowary habitat and corridors.

During habitat disturbance: 1. Daily work controls

The fauna spotter catcher must control the interface between machinery and cassowary habitat. Work must stop when a cassowary, active nest or unexpected movement route creates a risk that the approved controls cannot manage.

Road speed risk identified in guidance: Roads or tracks with proposed speeds above 60 kilometres per hour are a significant impact risk in identified high-risk areas without adequate proven traffic calming

  • Complete a daily pre-start inspection of the work area, access roads, retained habitat, water sources and exclusion fencing.
  • Use a suitably qualified fauna spotter catcher with authority to stop machinery immediately.
  • Keep vehicles and machinery to approved access routes and apply low speeds, signage and traffic calming at known or seasonal crossing points.
  • Keep people, vehicles, dogs and feeding activity away from cassowaries and retained habitat.
  • Do not leave open trenches, pits, wire, netting, stockpiles or fencing that could trap or block a cassowary.
  • Maintain water access and movement routes throughout each stage of the work.
  • Use a whole-of-road approach where roads are constructed or upgraded, including speed control, signs, traffic calming and fauna-sensitive crossings where required.

During habitat disturbance: 2. Spotter catcher and machinery procedure

Handling principle: Avoid capture and handling unless authorised and necessary for welfare or safety

Release principle: Use nearby retained suitable habitat identified in the approved fauna management plan, subject to permits and advice from the relevant wildlife authority

  • The spotter catcher must inspect the next work area before machinery enters and maintain direct communication with the operator.
  • Clear vegetation in stages so the spotter catcher can check each section and direct machinery away from retained habitat and escape routes.
  • Stop machinery for any cassowary sighting, fresh sign indicating immediate use, active nest, unexpected watercourse, blocked corridor or unsafe animal movement.
  • Allow a cassowary to move away without pursuit, crowding, feeding or attempts to make it cross a road.
  • Do not resume work until the spotter catcher and environmental officer confirm that the animal has moved to safe habitat and the work area remains compliant.
  • Use only personnel authorised under the relevant permit and fauna management plan to capture, handle, transport or release a bird.

During habitat disturbance: 3. Animal, nest and incident response

Nest location: Ground nests are generally near the base of a large tree or stump with vines, regrowth or dense grass cover

Known diseases: Aspergillosis and avian tuberculosis are recorded diseases, and cassowaries can carry internal parasites

  • Stop work and establish a quiet exclusion zone if a cassowary is found in the work area, is injured, is trapped, or is unable to reach retained habitat or water.
  • Keep workers and machinery back, do not feed the bird, and do not attempt unauthorised restraint or relocation.
  • Contact the project fauna ecologist, authorised wildlife handler and relevant state wildlife authority for advice and approval before capture or relocation.
  • Arrange prompt veterinary or licensed wildlife carer assessment for an injured bird, and record the animal’s location, condition, photographs, actions and destination.
  • Protect any nest or dependent young from machinery and people, and obtain species-specific advice before work recommences nearby.
  • Record and report vehicle strikes, dog attacks, attempted captures, injuries, deaths, nest disturbance, escapes, fence incidents and near misses.
  • Review controls after every incident and amend the fauna management plan before restarting the affected activity.

During habitat disturbance: 4. Habitat features and wet areas

Fresh water requirement: Cassowaries need access to fresh water for drinking and bathing many times each day

Night habitat: Quiet and dark habitat is used for resting, and noise and light can cause stress

  • Treat rainforest fruiting plants, dense shelter, ground nesting sites, water bodies, swamp edges, mangroves, riparian vegetation and movement routes as fauna management features.
  • Do not remove logs, dense ground cover or other shelter within retained habitat unless the approved plan identifies the need and provides an ecological control.
  • Fence or bridge watercourses without reducing cassowary access, water quality, water flow or movement along the waterway.
  • Keep drainage, sediment, lighting and noise controls in place to protect water quality, quiet night habitat and retained vegetation.
  • Inspect and secure trenches, pits, culverts and other structures at the end of each shift so a cassowary cannot enter or become trapped.

After habitat disturbance: 1. Completion checks

Post-work controls must confirm that cassowaries can still reach food, water, shelter and connected habitat. Continue monitoring until the site is stable and agreed performance measures are met.

Movement protection outcome: Retained corridors must continue to provide connected or near-connected movement between habitat patches

Water protection outcome: Water quality, flow and access must not be reduced by the action

  • Complete a post-clearance inspection for trapped or injured fauna, fresh tracks, dung, feathers, nests, damaged fencing, open excavations and blocked movement routes.
  • Remove temporary hazards, redundant fencing, wire, netting, waste, food scraps and materials that could attract or trap cassowaries.
  • Confirm that retained habitat, watercourses, corridor links and escape routes match the approved plans and survey mapping.
  • Check that roads, gates and fences do not funnel cassowaries into traffic or prevent access to water and habitat.
  • Record all inspections, findings, corrective actions, photographs and sign-off by the fauna ecologist or environmental officer.

After habitat disturbance: 2. Monitoring and reporting

Monitoring limitation: Short-term surveys may miss seasonal use, so monitoring should include local information and, where needed, more than one season

Population monitoring method identified in recovery planning: Faecal DNA methods are being developed for identifying individuals and estimating abundance

  • Monitor retained habitat, corridors, water access, road crossings, cassowary signs, dog activity, weeds and fencing at the frequency specified in the approval and fauna management plan.
  • Use sightings, calls, dung and footprints as monitoring evidence, and record effort so changes in detection can be interpreted.
  • Increase monitoring after cyclones, major storms, fire, flooding, road changes, unexpected clearing or reports of injury or dog attack.
  • Report deaths, injuries, disease concerns, road strikes, non-compliance and significant habitat damage to the relevant authority and approval holder.
  • Submit confirmed records to the relevant state wildlife database and update the project environmental record.

After habitat disturbance: 3. Ongoing controls and offsets

Mitigation order: Avoid impacts first, then reduce impacts, monitor performance and adapt management

Priority restoration setting: Riparian areas are identified as beneficial areas for cassowary corridor restoration

  • Maintain speed controls, crossing signs, traffic calming, dog restrictions, exclusion fencing and corridor protection for the life of the approval or project commitment.
  • Inspect fencing regularly and repair damage before it blocks movement, causes entrapment or directs birds towards roads.
  • Apply approved offsets or rehabilitation commitments where residual impacts remain, while recognising that offsets do not replace avoidance and on-site impact reduction.
  • Review the controls adaptively using monitoring results, incident records and changes in habitat use.

Rehabilitation actions: 1. Restore food and movement habitat

Rehabilitation should restore connected rainforest and associated vegetation that provide fruit, shelter, water access and movement routes. Design planting and maintenance for long-term cassowary use, not just rapid ground cover.

Cassowary food plants: The species feeds primarily on fleshy fruit and uses more than 240 fruiting plant species according to the supporting species profile

Riparian movement: Cassowaries may move 2 to 3 kilometres along riparian corridors

Corridor width guidance: Use a 5:1 length to width ratio and at least 200 metres width where development abuts both sides, where practicable

  • Plant locally appropriate native rainforest and associated vegetation that provide a year-round supply of fleshy fruit, using advice from the relevant Queensland agency and local recovery team.
  • Prioritise riparian links and gaps between retained habitat patches because cassowaries use these routes to move between patches.
  • Design corridors to avoid directing birds towards roads, houses, high-use recreation areas or other hazards.
  • Retain or recreate dense shelter, quiet resting areas and ground nesting conditions near large trees or stumps.
  • Do not introduce weeds or non-Indigenous plants, and control pond apple and other invasive plants where they reduce habitat quality.

Rehabilitation actions: 2. Recreate safe habitat structure

Nest type: Cassowary nests are scrapes on the ground, not tree hollows

Water use: Fresh water is used for drinking and bathing many times a day

  • Allow natural regeneration of rainforest, woodland, swamp and melaleuca vegetation where it can reconnect habitat and provide food or shelter.
  • Retain fallen timber and dense ground cover where they do not create a fire or public safety risk, because cassowary habitat includes sheltered ground areas and ground nests.
  • Do not install nest boxes as a substitute for cassowary nesting habitat because cassowaries nest on the ground.
  • Reinstate safe access to ponds, streams and other fresh water without creating steep-sided pits, entrapment points or routes towards roads.
  • Use wildlife-sensitive fencing only where it protects a demonstrable cassowary benefit and does not fragment habitat or block movement.

Rehabilitation actions: 3. Manage threats during rehabilitation

Dog risk: Chicks and sub-adults are particularly vulnerable to dog attack

Cyclone response: Post-cyclone plans should address temporary food shortages, changed movement and harmful interactions with people

  • Exclude domestic dogs from rehabilitated habitat and require dogs outside properties to be controlled, secured or supervised in accordance with local rules.
  • Control weeds and prevent new weed introduction through machinery hygiene, clean fill controls and follow-up treatment.
  • Manage fire so rainforest shelter, food plants, nesting areas and corridor function are not progressively degraded.
  • Use road signs, speed controls, traffic calming and fauna-sensitive crossings where rehabilitation connects habitat across or beside roads.
  • Do not feed cassowaries and keep food waste, attractants and public access controls away from restored habitat.
  • Assess feral pig impacts where evidence shows damage to nests, food resources, habitat or movement, and apply approved control measures.

Rehabilitation actions: 4. Success measures and review

Adaptive management requirement: Mitigation performance should be monitored seasonally or annually where specified, with findings used to adjust management

Recovery planning review: The recovery plan provides for annual review by the recovery team and independent review within five years of adoption

  • Set measurable targets for native plant survival, canopy and understorey recovery, weed cover, corridor continuity, water access, fencing condition and road risk.
  • Inspect restored areas seasonally and after cyclones, floods, fire and major construction events.
  • Use repeated searches for sightings, calls, dung and footprints to assess cassowary use, while interpreting non-detection cautiously.
  • Replace failed plantings, repair erosion and fencing, control weeds and remove new barriers when monitoring shows that the habitat is not functioning as intended.
  • Report progress to the approval authority and relevant recovery team, and revise the rehabilitation plan when monitoring does not meet the agreed targets.

Sources