The brown, striped chicks are able to follow the male around in search of food several hours after hatching. The male stays with the chicks for approximately nine months protecting them from predators and teaching them to find food on their own. During this time, the chicks lose their striped markings and molt into a light brown plumage. The skin on the neck and head begins to turn color, and the casque begins to develop. Over the next two years, they gradually molt into the black plumage, and develop wattles.
Cassowaries are capable of breeding when they are three years old.
Life spans in captivity can reach 20-40 years. Cassowaries are very important to the native people of New Guinea both economically and ritually. Cassowaries have been traded for pigs and even for a wife. Some tribes hunt them for their meat which is considered a delicacy. They use the feathers to decorate headdresses, and the feather quills for earrings.