Scientists are planning to take DNA samples from the dung of cassowaries, in a bid to keep track of one of Australia's most strange and exotic birds.
Cassowaries are a threatened species.
No-one really knows how many of these large flightless birds are left in the World Heritage tropical rainforests of northern Australia. Although local groups have made accurate counts of birds in their areas, the estimates for the total population are largely guesswork. The tests will enable us to tell whether the dung samples come from one bird or several, and to establish family relationships between the birds. Scientists know little about cassowaries, despite their significance to the functioning of the rainforests and their attraction to tourists. Cassowaries look like stocky, stout-legged emus.