Cassowary chicks in captivity are a very rare occurence. Cooberrie Park (official website), has two such chicks that are being hand raised, because the parents are too great a risk to trust with feeding and caring. This afternoon my sisters and I drove there with some rats (the rats are for breeding and their babies will be used to feed the snakes on display) to sell.
The owner then said that he had something very special to show us, something that most people will never see in their lifetimes. He then took us to a cage with two young Cassowary chicks inside. More information on Cassowarys can be found at the Queensland Government’s Enviromental Protection Agency website, as well as Wikipedia.
Cooberrie Park currently has more protected Cassowarys in captivity than any other park or zoo (besides Australia Zoo, which has 5 as well) in Australia. They currently have 3 adults and 2 chicks.
Below are the photos. Sorry for the blurry black lines on the pictures, they’re a result of the wire getting in the way.
The top part of the Cassowary Chick. The head looks a bit like a chook’s head but the body shape and colour is totally different.
A full view of the Cassowary. Notice the very distintive black markings running along the body.
The two chicks together in a corner.
Another view of the Cassowary chick.
one word ADORABLE :XXXXXXXXXX SO CUTE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
most helpful as i look for inspiration for a poster im doing for a primary school, thankyou