Southern cassowary

It is distributed in New Guinea, Cape York, Ceram and the Aru Islands.

It is a running bird that reaches up to 50km/h, similar to the ostrich, but smaller. It has long, powerful legs for running and defense and three toes on each foot. On its head there is a large bony helmet made of trabecular bone and cartilage; its wings are very small and do not allow it to fly. Females are larger than males.

The female mates with two or three males. The nest is a pad of vegetation on the ground and it lays 4 bright green eggs. Incubation, which is carried out exclusively by the males, lasts from 47 to 61 days. The males are in charge of all egg and hatchling care.

The cassowary is a solitary animal that has its own territory that it will defend from other cassowaries. Although they are very shy animals, they can be very aggressive with people, even causing the death of an attacked person.

Although their diet is mainly fruit, they also occasionally eat insects, invertebrates and fungi.

The biggest threat to southern cassowaries is the destruction of their habitat.