SnRSeattle

I just saw a post about the best place to see koalas and lots of interesting answers, so I am asking about cassowaries. We drove the road to Cape Tribulation and saw lots of "beware of the..." signs, but no birds. The cassowary is my husband's favorite, so we are very interesting in seeing some when we come to Australia in Oct. 2007. I found via a helpful link here that there is a portion of FNQ called the Cassowary Coast. Any guides or places to recommend there? Thanks!
Sally in Seattle

lizF

The safest place to see a Cassowary is in a zoo and behind wire. The bird can get very aggressive if it feels like it and unless you are careful they can inflict a very nasty injury to you. Having said that I have seen them at the Cairn's Botanical gardens and just a couple of weeks ago they were being a pest in Innisfail and people were being asked not to feed them. If you look at the bird's feet you will see those great tallons which can rip open a man's stomach - so keep well away and enjoy from a distance.

pat_woolford

Sally, last time I saw a cassowary was a few months ago just north of Cape Tribulation, just at the beginning of the Bloomfield Track. Sometimes you see them, sometimes you don't. Sadly yet another young one was killed by a car just the other day on the road to Cape Tribulation. It was thought there were none left around Cairns area, but after last cyclone, one at least was seen foraging on a suburban footpath.

As Liz says, Innisfail and Mission Beach are likely spots, the roads into Mission Beach carry far more cassowary warning signs, advising motorists to slow down, than you see at Cape Trib. They have a strong conservation programme there, but traffic is also the killer. They're also found on parts of Atherton Tableland.

Most wildlife parks in area have them, Daintree Mangrove Sanctuary, about 13kms north of Mossman has a few as well as an amazing collection of Australian parrots and other wildlife. Also has accommodation so you can wake up with the birds, and other wildlife.

Neil_Oz

Pat, when I visited Cairns in '94 I picked up the paper and the first headline I saw was "Jogger attacked by cassowary!" Only in North Queensland, I thought to myself.

pat_woolford

Hi Neil, from memory that happened near Cairns Botanical Gardens (Flecker Gardens) just north of the city. It was cassowary mating season and he was infuriated by what he took as a potential rival. Probably the same bird which bailed up a German tourist on nearby rainforest walk on Mt Whitfield and made off with her bag.

Sally, yes, Cassowary Coast is between Cairns and south to Cardwell, which includes Mission Beach. There's a B&B there called Licuala Lodge which has a regular visiting male cassowary, sometimes with chicks. Cassowary House is a more specialised bird-watching lodge, just near Kuranda. Also is home to Victoria's Rifle Bird which has one of the most astonishing mating displays you're ever likely to witness.

SnRSeattle

Thank you everyone, and especially Pat W. with, as usual, the exact thing I was hoping to find out. I don't plan on going after them on foot without proper precautions and guide, just would like to see one without the chain link fence blocking the view. Our picture from the Cairns Zoo doesn't do the bird justice. When my elementary class was studying Australia, one student chose the cassawary to study and was thrilled to find out about the claw that could kill a human (kids!!) so I knew they were not to be messed with. Seeing a resident cassawary with chicks would be soooo awesome! Thank you so much for the recommendations.
Sally in Seattle

gaynor

We've been to Queensland several times over the past few years and got up really early on a number of occasions to try to find cassowaries in various places, but had no luck. We we lying by the pool at a Mission Beach hotel when a member of staff came running out saying that there were cassowaries in the car park ! Sure enough, there was an adult with a youngster and we were able to get really close ! Hope you find some.

Gaynor

pat_woolford

That's just the way sometimes gaynor, everyone's creeping stealthily about in the rainforest trying to find a cassowary with no luck and when they come back to the carpark there they are, looking for a handout. Musn't feed them though, it just encourages them to dice with death on the roads.