Have you met Princess?

How this ‘rainforest royal’ became a Daintree ambassador 👑

 

Two adult & two juvenile cassowaries frequenting Rainforest Rescue properties
Captured on wildlife camera trap, Lot 41 Cape Tribulation Rd.

 

This week is an exciting one for Rainforest Rescue, because Thursday 26th is World Cassowary Day.

As a valued supporter of our work in the Daintree Rainforest, I’m sure you’re familiar with how Southern Cassowaries are an integral part of what we do every day. You could say we’re crazy about them!

Rescuing an icon

When Rainforest Rescue began 25 years ago, the vulnerability and decline of this ancient species was well documented. We became one of several organisations working together as a Cassowary Recovery Team to halt the population and habitat loss of the Wet Tropic’s prehistoric ‘Rainforest Gardener’, with campaigns and activism highlighting the urgency of their plight as an endangered species in the region.

Recent evidence suggests that together we have succeeded in stabilising the Australian population of Southern Cassowary, but there’s still a long way to go to see a sustained increase in numbers. Our localised work in the region is therefore only partly done, because to grow a population requires more and more suitable, connected rainforest habitat.

But grassroots action isn’t enough, because issues like the Cassowary’s decline need people like yourself to become aware and to care, which helps to sustain the work we do for the long term. It’s why, thanks to our friends at CAFNEC, World Cassowary Day exists. And it’s also why today’s 25th anniversary message focuses on a partnership which has brought awareness of the Daintree to many thousands of people over the last decade.

What’s astounding is that this ever-growing audience is thousands of kilometres away, at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo.

 

Princess the Cassowary
Image credit © WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo

 

Encountering rainforest royalty

Today I want to highlight the importance of a partnership that helps us to achieve what we couldn’t do on our own. That is, to bring people up close to Australia’s extra special wildlife and show them why caring for it matters so much. For the last ten years, the species keepers at WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo have been educating visitors about the Daintree Rainforest and its incredible inhabitants. Central to this is a charismatic representative of rainforest royalty, Princess the Cassowary.

According to his keepers, Princess was mistaken for a female before a DNA test proved otherwise. Princess hates getting his feet wet, even though most Cassowaries love water and he refuses to eat certain fruits with seeds in them. Rainforest Rescue was just 2 years old when Princess was born, so in some ways we have grown up alongside each other.

I was fortunate to meet Princess ‘in person’ recently in a purpose-built rainforest environment and his keepers asked me to share this short message with you.

Alongside WILD LIFE Sydney Zoo’s education is the opportunity for visitors to contribute to projects in the Daintree. With over $50,000 raised, their partnership with Rainforest Rescue has funded vital restoration and protection work over the last ten years.

Much like other iconic species, such as the Giant Panda or Blue Whale, Cassowaries represent a much larger slice of their native, natural environment. They act not just as an ambassador for that environment but also as a barometer of its health, sharing that indicator with a broader audience.

Without Princess as a figurehead for the Wet Tropics we are certain we wouldn’t be as far along the journey as we are today, securing and restoring connected rainforest corridors and intact areas of habitat for other cassowaries to thrive in. We’re ever grateful to WILD LIFE Life Sydney Zoo and its team for their ongoing loyalty and commitment to the Daintree. Partnerships like theirs amplify our vision and bring our messages to people who we might never reach. For conservation and regeneration, this is crucial – allowing audiences to understand how rainforests are full of biodiversity and essential connections, like the cassowary spreading plant seeds around the forest floor. Everyone will have their first encounter with a threatened species, so we’re thankful it’s one that is helping to do good.

So, this Thursday, please savour a moment to reflect on your own support of rainforest conservation and restoration, consider the millions of years that cassowaries have roamed the Daintree and how fortunate we are to share the present day with them and perhaps pass on Princess’ video to someone you know.

Wishing you a Happy World Cassowary Day!

For the rainforests,

Kristin and the Rainforest Rescue team

 

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