Exciting times up here in Kuranda, where the male abandoned his 2 chicks aged 7
months in mid-May, I just hope they meet a happier fate than the two from last
year which were killed by a dog in the suburbs down along Black Mountain Road,
explaining their sudden disappearance last July. We hear the guilty dog was
hastily relocated, it just goes to show the problems that can arise in
Cassowary neighbourhoods, and this is one where the awareness levels about the
birds are generally pretty high.
The female got a cut foot the day we left for Fiji on June 12, but happily one
of our neighbours was able to spray her injury with Betadine and this seems to
work well, she looks good today. I don't know why we have had two leg injuries
this year, i just hope someone has not put up a wire fence, but it might be
broken glass or sharp metal lying about I suppose.
The two chicks from this season are still about, but when they come around get
chased off by the male, we saw them both yesterday and today and both times he
went hammering off after them, this morning just after mating with the female
in the flowerbed right by the house! The interesting thing here is that a nest
with 4 lime green eggs was found by a visiting photographer on May 31, he
thought they were melons laying on the ground initially. The clutch had gone up
to 7 and the male was clearly on the nest when we were in Fiji last week, but
sadly I fear the attempt may have failed as we've seem him with the female over
the past couple of days. Normally once nesting starts we don't see him at all
for around 6 weeks.
Phil Gregory
www. cassowary-house.com,au
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