2 December 08
Staff at the Australian Reptile Park on the Central Coast of NSW have sought the help of your friendly neighbourhood garden variety chicken to assist in the upbringing of a Cassowary chick born two weeks ago at the Park.

Senior keepers at the Park made the decision to remove the young chick when the male cassowary continued to sit on the remaining three eggs and was neglecting the newborn, who was quickly beginning to lose weight.

Employing the chicken to “teach” the young cassowary social and feeding skills is an initiative of the Australian Reptile Park and the bond between the two “birds of a feather” has delighted and surprised Park keepers.

“Cassowaries are not born with the ability to pick up food”, says Reptile Park senior curator Tim Faulkner. “It is a learnt behaviour, taught by the father. Staff have had to improvise – the chicken peck, pecks at his food and the cassowary copies the motions and the behaviour.”

Cassowaries are now considered an endangered species, with real threats coming from cars, domestic pets and habitat destruction. “Many, many cassowaries were killed during the 2007 Townsville cyclone for example”, says Mr Faulkner, “so this captive breeding is vital in ensuring the long term viability of the species. We are very excited about this birth – our resident cassowaries are only young and this has been a first pairing with a great result.”