Meet Darwin, Houston Zoo's Double-wattled Cassowary

Darwin is a male Double-wattled cassowary born on 4/28/2005 at the Baton Rouge (LA) Zoo. He arrived at Houston Zoo in February 2009. Cassowaries are the third largest birds in the world (after Ostrich and Emu). Darwin stands about 66 inches tall. Cassowaries are active mornings and late afternoons and on moonlit nights. Females are generally larger and more colorful than the males and weigh as much as 20% more than the males. Double-wattled cassowaries (Casuarius casuarius) are found in the forests of New Guinea and northeastern Australia. Their number in the wild are down to about 1,200 to 1,500 individuals. Their biggest threat is loss of habitat, vehicle traffic, and predation by feral dogs and pigs. In the wild, cassowaries eat fruit, leaves, insects, eggs, small mammals and nesting birds. Here at Houston Zoo, we feed Darwin ratite pellets-- formulated specifically for ostrich, emu, rhea, kiwi, cassowary--as well as fruits and vegetables. He gets papaya, kiwi fruit, cantaloupe and strawberries for treats. Though flightless, they're a formidable bird weighing in at up to 120 lbs and are very handy with their very sharp, three-toed clawed feet they use as weapons. The inner claw of each foot is about 5 inches long. They've been characterized by Guiness Book of World Records as "The World's Most Dangerous Bird". Their wings are very rudimentary, consisting of five or six quills. The bird's feathers are very coarse and thin giving them no aerodynamic lift. The blade-like casque on his head is spongy on the inside and covered on the outside with keratin--same material as our fingernails. Scientists believe the casque is a secondary sexual characteristic, or it may be used to batter through underbrush or as a weapon in dominance disputes with other cassowaries. Cassowaries are generally solitary animals and can live up to 19 years in the wild; 40 years in captivity. Darwin can be found in his exhibit next door to the Great Hornbill exhibit.