They’re the biggest birds in Asia and Oceania—and with the baddest reputation—but cassowaries will almost always choose quiet and solitude when given the chance. Read on to learn more about these shy-yet-deadly modern-day dinosaurs.

1. Modern Dinosaurs?

Scientists believe cassowaries have been around for approximately 50-60 million years, which means the ancestors of today’s cassowaries were alive in the time of the Triceratops, Tyrannosaurus, and Velociraptor. Some scientists speculate cassowaries may be the closest link between dinosaurs and modern birds, pointing to their three-toed feet and the horn-like casque on their head, which many dinosaurs are also believed to have had.

2. Three Species Alive Today

From Australia to New Guinea, three species of cassowary can be found in the world today. The Southern Cassowary is the largest and has the widest range, occupying the southern lowlands of New Guinea as well as several other islands and into Australia. The Northern Cassowary is found mostly in the northern lowlands of New Guinea, while the Dwarf Cassowary prefers the highlands that run along the middle of New Guinea; both species are also found on several nearby islands. Scientists believe a fourth species—the Pygmy Cassowary—went extinct sometime in the Pleistocene Era.

3. Helmeted Head

One of the cassowaries’ dinosaur-like traits is their prominent “helmet,” which is called a casque. These casques are made of keratin—the same substance that makes our fingernails—and their use is still a mystery. Some scientists believe cassowaries use their casques in displays of dominance, while others think they might help with sound detection or provide protection as the birds push through the dense understory. One recent study suggests that cassowaries use their casques to disperse excess heat from their body. Whatever the reason for it, the casque is similar to the helmet-like structures many dinosaurs are believed to have had.

4. Booming Voice (That we Humans Can Barely Hear)

Cassowaries make a variety of rumbling, hissing, and cough-like sounds. Among these is a low-frequency rumbling boom that is the lowest known sound made by a bird. These booms are so low in frequency—registering 32 hertz or lower—that they are just on the edge of human hearing. Scientists believe cassowaries use this low rumbling boom to communicate long distances through the dense rainforest understory.

5. Taller Than Stephen Curry (Sometimes)

Pro-basketball player Stephen Curry measures 6’2”, but the tallest Southern Cassowaries—the tallest of the three species—can look down on him. Southern Cassowary stand an average height of roughly 5’7”, but just like humans, some stand taller than average. In fact, the tallest individuals—which are always females—measure 6’3” or a little more. Among bird species, only ostriches and emus stand taller than the Southern Cassowary.

6. Masters of the Jump Scare

Like the other ratites—flightless birds including ostriches, emus, and kiwis—cassowaries can’t fly at all. But they certainly can jump. Southern Cassowary have a vertical leap of approximately five feet, which they use to harvest overhead fruit and also to defend themselves with a jumping kick attack.

7. Can Kill You

Cassowaries aren’t really the world’s deadliest bird—that distinction belongs to the Common Ostrich—but they can be deadly dangerous all the same. Their size, speed, legs, and long, sharp claws are a powerful package. When threatened or cornered, the birds kick out with their strong legs and can deliver fatal wounds with their long claws.

8. Really Just Want to Be Left Alone

Despite their size and strength, cassowaries generally prefer to avoid conflict when possible. All three species live mostly solitary lives, with the exception of mating season and the raising of chicks.

9. Tough Mamas and Stay-at-Home Dads

All three cassowary species reverse the gender roles typically seen in most birds. The females—which are taller and heavier than the males—have brighter coloring and a larger casque, while the males are the ones who incubate the eggs and care for the young. In fact, male cassowaries may spend more than a year with their offspring before the young birds venture off on their own.

10. Essential “Gardeners” of the Rainforest

Although they will occasionally eat small animals, cassowaries are primarily frugivores—fruit eaters. And when they eat the fruit, they often eat—but don’t digest—the seeds as well. Those seeds are eventually “planted” when they pass through the bird’s digestive tract and are deposited on the forest floor, often some distance away from the parent plant. Scientists estimate that cassowaries disperse the seeds for at least 238 species of fruit-producing plants, including approximately 100 plant species for which they are the sole seed disperser.

Help Save Cassowaries

New Guinea’s incredible rainforests are home to thousands of species, including all three species of cassowary as well as the Critically Endangered Western Long-beaked Echidna, the Endangered Spectacled Flying Fox, and several species of tree kangaroos. But deforestation for oil palm plantations, logging, and mining is threatening these forests. Rainforest Trust and partner Yayasan Ekosistem Nusantara Berkelanjutan (EcoNusa) are working together to safeguard 120,000 acres of primary rainforest for these species and the Indigenous and local communities that live there.

Help save 120,000 acres for cassowaries and other threatened species​​