|
|
Casuarius casuarius
– Vulnerable
Taxonomy
|
Kingdom:
|
ANIMALIA
|
|
Phylum:
|
CHORDATA
|
|
Class:
|
AVES
|
|
Order:
|
STRUTHIONIFORMES
|
|
Family:
|
CASUARIIDAE
|
|
Scientific Name:
|
Casuarius casuarius
|
|
Species Authority:
|
(Linnaeus, 1758)
|
|
Common Name/s:
|
| English | — | SOUTHERN CASSOWARY |
|
Assessment Information
|
Red List Category & Criteria:
|
VU A2bcd ver 3.1 (2001)
|
|
Year Assessed:
|
2004
|
|
Assessor/s:
|
BirdLife International
|
|
Evaluator/s:
|
Stattersfield, A., Dutson, G. (BirdLife International Red List Authority) & Garnett, S. (Birds Australia)
|
|
Justification:
|
This species is believed to have undergone a rapid decline of more than 30% in the last 30 years (three generations) in Australia, and declines of a similar magnitude may have occurred elsewhere in its range. It is therefore classified as Vulnerable. However, the decline in Australia resulted from an extraordinary rate of habitat destruction, which has virtually ceased, and further information from New Guinea where large areas remain unaffected by hunting may indicate that the species would be better listed as Near Threatened.
|
|
History:
|
| 1988 | - | Lower Risk/least concern (BirdLife International 2004) |
| 1994 | - | Vulnerable (Collar, Crosby and Stattersfield 1994) |
| 2000 | - | Vulnerable (BirdLife International 2000) |
|
Geographic Range
|
Range Description:
|
Casuarius casuarius is found in New Guinea (Papua, formerly Irian Jaya, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea), including the islands of Seram (where probably introduced) and Aru, and north-eastern Australia. It occurs throughout the lowlands of New Guinea except for the northern watershed from the Vogelkop to the Huon Peninsula2,6. In Papua and adjacent islands, its status is unclear, but it may be more common than in Papua New Guinea. In Papua New Guinea, it has declined, and is now absent in some locations, including remote areas4,6. In Australia, there are 3 subpopulations in Queensland from south of Jardine River on Cape York Peninsula to the Paluma Range north of Townsville, and the population is estimated at c.2,000 birds and is declining7.
|
|
Range Map:
|
 (click for detailed map)
|
|
Countries:
|
Native:
Australia (Queensland); Indonesia (Irian Jaya, Maluku); Papua New Guinea
|
Population
|
Population Trend:
|
|
Habitat and Ecology
|
Habitat and Ecology:
|
It is a solitary and sedentary inhabitant of rainforest, occasionally using adjacent savanna forests, mangroves and fruit plantations. Its diet largely comprises fallen fruit, although fairly undiscriminating7.
|
|
System:
|
Terrestrial
|
Threats
|
Threats:
|
In Australia, it is threatened by ongoing habitat fragmentation. The small subpopulations are susceptible to predation by dogs, road accidents, disease, hunting (for food, sport and to protect crops) and possibly predation by, and competition with, pigs. In Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, the species is heavily hunted close to populated areas, being of high cultural importance, and constituting a major food source for subsistence communities2,4,6. However, although birds appear to be more common in unpopulated areas3,5, they can apparently survive in some hunted areas1.
|
Conservation Actions
|
Conservation Actions:
|
Conservation measures underway:
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. Most remaining habitat is within protected areas7,8,9.
Conservation measures proposed:
In Indonesia and Papua New Guinea: Monitor populations in protected areas. Quantify the effects of hunting and logging. Promote community-based hunting restrictions. In Australia: Revise monitoring techniques. Research population dynamics. Study effects and role of disease. Prevent habitat clearance. Undertake dog and pig control in dense populations7.
|
|
|
