[ad_1]
Cassowaries live in three places: in Australia, on the islands of Indonesia and on the island of New Guinea. However, each of these locations covers essential amount of land! Let’s explore the three cassowary species and their habitats and habitats!
Where do cassowaries live: their habitat
The first thing to know about cassowaries is that their habitat is different from other large flightless birds such as ostriches that live in savannas or desert environments.
Cassowary eating very much fruits are a heavy diet, so they are in tropical forests, where there are many fruits on the ground. Occasionally, cassowaries can be found in other habitats such as swamps, grasslands or even beaches, but this is usually only for short periods of time when they travel to new locations in the forest.
In fact, there are three different types of cassowary, so we will determine individually where each one lives.
Southern Cassowary: Found in Australia and southern New Guinea.
Southern cassowaries are the most common cassowary species. According to IUCN estimates, their population ranges from 20,000 to 50,000 birds.
Southern cassowaries are the only species found in Australia. Their Australian range is limited, with only three distinct populations on the Cape York Peninsula. The map above shows where the southern cassowaries live, with their largest center around the city of Cairns.
Southern cassowaries also inhabit the southern half of New Guinea. They prefer low-lying habitats, rarely exceeding 3000 feet. Their range extends along the entire southern coast of the island, and they will live inland as far as the Central Mountain Range, which runs through the middle of New Guinea.
Northern Cassowary: Found in Northern New Guinea
Northern cassowaries have a smaller range than their southern neighbors. The species’ ranges do overlap in some places, such as the west coast of New Guinea, but there are fewer flat areas to settle on the north side of the island. Due to its smaller range, it is estimated that between 10,000 and 20,000 northern cassowaries live, accounting for half of the southern species population.
Dwarf cassowary: lives in the mountains of New Guinea
Dwarf cassowaries are half the size of the other two species and live in the mountains of New Guinea. They have been observed to live at almost 12,000 feet and avoid low-lying habitats. Because of this preference for the highlands of New Guinea, dwarf cassowaries mostly live in the center of the island. In addition, populations of dwarf cassowaries are found on some nearby islands such as Yapen Island.
[ad_2]
Source link