Today cassowaries are found in rainforest patches between Townsville and Iron Range near the tip of Cape york peninsula. Anecdotal information suggests they were also found at least as far south as Airlie Beach and in the gallery rainforests right to the very tip of Cape York peninsula early this century. Cassowaries can be bad tempered and because the inside toe of each foot is adorned with a spike about 120mm long they are formidable when roused. In the wild they tend to be solitary creatures with females dominant over males. In captivity at the Barefoot Bushman's Wildlife Park the male and female cohabit peacefully.
Females produce up to four green eggs and desert the the nest site as soon as they are laid.
The male cassowary takes on the responsibility of rearing the brood. This allows the female to take up to three mates per season. In captivity the removal of newly laid eggs results in repeat clutches. The male spends up to nine months looking after the young. When hatched they are stripped and gradually change to a brown by the time they are six months old.