Southern Cassowary
“I don't eat anything like fire. And on top of that, I'm being said to be a "dangerous person". How strange... ... even though I never intend to do anything dangerous. I just rupture the ball when I kick them and make someone I'm crush with fly away... ... I only want to spend my day peacefully... ... but why... I told you I don't eat fire”
—Southern Cassowary's introduction
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| Southern Cassowary | Festival | Nexon Game | Stage Play | Gallery |
The Southern Cassowary is a type of Bird Friend that appeared in the original Kemono Friends mobile game.
Appearance
Southern Cassowary's old design has short blue hair, her front fringe is half-black and go down to eyes-level. She has a horn-like brown casque, sits atop the head. She wears a long blue & red furred scarf. Her outfit is a simple black shirt with long sleeves, a sailor-style collar with white stripes and a red tie. She has a wide miniskirt with fur around the edges. She wears beige tights and a pair of boots.
Her current design's outfit is entirely different from the old design, her outfit is composed of a sleeveless top buried inside her tiered skirt with two tiers of tiny pleats and a black plumage.The sleeves have been replaced by arm warmers, her tights are gone and she's wearing now thigh-length tan boots with laces. Her neck is both surrounded by a blue scarf with black tips and a blue bow tie that has a red gradient at the end to resemble the wattles. She has long cyan & blue hair with two wings-like plumage that go down to her ears.
In Real Life
The southern cassowary (Casuarius casuarius) is a large flightless black bird. It is a solitary and sedentary inhabitant of rainforest, occasionally using adjacent savanna forests, mangroves and fruit plantations. [1]
Southern cassowaries are frugivorous, feeding mostly on fruits from canopy species in the forests where they live. Because these birds cannot fly they must rely on finding fruit that has fallen to the ground. They also eat insects, small vertebrates, and fungi. The casque may serve as a crash helmet for barging through thick, tangled vegetation and/or as a spade in the search for buried food. [3] [2]
Southern cassowaries are large, robust birds with long powerful legs for running, but also for defense. the first line of defense among the ratites is to depend upon foot speed (up to 30 mph) to carry them free of harm’s way. What they can not outrun, they can often outfight. The inner of the three toes of each of the cassowary’s feet bears a long, dagger-like claw. A simple kick is capable of delivering a crushing blow. [2]
The biggest threat to southern cassowaries is the destruction of their habitat. There has been a 30% decline in their numbers in the last 30 years. Fortunately, in Australia, the destruction of habitat has almost completely stopped and in New Guinea there are large areas where the bird is not hunted which helps their numbers. Southern cassowaries will be safe as long as there are large areas of undisturbed forests. [3]
In Australia, programmes have been aimed at community education, localised habitat management, protection and revegetation, management plans for populations and high-risk individuals, surveys, survey and translocation methods, and habitat use. Temporary feeding stations have been installed in damaged areas following cyclones in Australia. Most remaining habitat is within protected areas. [1]
Trivia
- Cassowaries are one of the only birds to have been recorded making very low vocalizations. There is some speculation about whether the casques on their heads are somehow related to these impressive sounds. It is speculated that the casque could play a role in receiving or producing these sounds.
References
1. BirdLife International (2017). "Casuarius casuarius". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
3. Dan Hulbert. "Animal diversity web: Casuarius casuarius". University of Michigan. Museum of Zoology.