Animalia Life
Casuarius bennettii
TAXONOMY
Casuarius bennettii Gould, 1857, New Britain.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Dwarf cassowary, little cassowary, mountain cassowary;
French: Casoar de Bennett; German: Bennettkasuar;
Spanish: Casuario Menor.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Height 39–53 in (99–135 cm); weight 39 lb (about 18 kg). A
small cassowary with a flat, low casque and a less colorful neck
than the other species. A distinctive form lives on the west side
of Geevink Bay, West Irian, and may merit recognition as a
species, C. papuanus.
DISTRIBUTION
New Guinea, New Britain, and Japen Island.
HABITAT
Lives in forest and secondary growth, favoring hilly and
mountainous country to 10,800 ft (3,300 m). On New
Britain, where other species are absent, it lives in lowland
forest as well.
BEHAVIOR
Usually solitary or in small family groups, traversing steep
slopes and thick vegetation. Its call is higher pitched than that
of the other species.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Bennett’s cassowary feeds mainly on fallen fruits in the rainforest
but also takes fungi, insects, and small vertebrates.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
The clutch consists of four to six eggs. Incubation 49–52 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Although it is hunted extensively it remains
widespread at low densities.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
Widely kept as a pet and, when small, traded between
localities.
Photo Gallery of - Bennett’s cassowary
