How to see a Cassowary

They may be seen at any time of day, but are most often encountered on roads and walking tracks in the early morning and late afternoon, usually seeking the shelter of the forest during the heat of the day. The Mission Beach tip, the ‘windies’ going into Mission Beach from El Arish or the road to Tully via South Mission Beach are most likely to be where you will see them slowly wandering across the road and they do tend to rush out so please be willing to slow right down to a stop as they are very skittish and may have babies with them. They also have very very large sharp claws and can be aggressive and even deadly if they feel threatened.

On Queensland.com website you’ll find a great article on where exactly to go: https://www.queensland.com/au/en/places-to-see/experiences/nature-and-wildlife/best-places-to-spot-cassowary-in-wild

You are actually most likely to see them when it is a bit rainy as when it’s warm they chill in the creeks in the rainforest.

You can also heck out the Mission Beach Cassowaries Facebook page; a great resource for updates and tip-offs. If none of these brings you any cassowary luck, you can always try Plan B, head to Etty Bay (25 minutes’ drive north of us) to try and catch an early-morning (7 to 9am) or late-afternoon (3-5pm) glimpse of the birds on the beach! Insider info: if you have a silver or black car they may see their reflection and attack the car, so best to always back off before they can get this close.