Kašík the Southern Cassowary

Origin

Kašík hatched on August 19, 1987 in Edinburgh Zoo and was acquired by Prague Zoo through the services of a trading company. He arrived in September 1989, still sporting juvenile plumage – he had cinnamon-colored feathers and the characteristic wattles were only just beginning to develop.

Breeding
At first, Kašík lived alone in Prague Zoo, waiting for a mate. Finally a wild-born female of approximately the same age arrived from Bratislava Zoo. We named her Káča. As cassowaries are unapologetic loners, each bird got its own sleeping quarters. Also, each bird got a separate open-air enclosure, with a linking yard between the enclosures. When the male and the female started calling out to each other, which usually happened in the spring, we would first allow them contact through a partition and only later direct contact in a shared enclosure.
Already in the first year of cohabitation we were given a clear demonstration that in a cassowary couple it is the female who rules the roost. She dominates not only by dint of her size and her more massive helmet but also by her demeanor. On the occasion alluded to, Káča lashed out at Kašík with great ferocity and he took to his heels. Cassowaries have tremendously powerful legs, much more powerful than those of ostriches or rheas. They can easily jump up to a height of 1.5 meters and with a single vicious kick they can kill or rip open their adversary. That is why the keepers again separated the female from the male. But things were much calmer in the following years. As soon as the snow disappeared and with it, the risk of slipping, we were able to let Kašík and Káča be together again. After a short mating season, we separated them once more. This way, the female regularly laid up to 6 eggs a year (which is impressive for a cassowary, the usual number being three to four eggs).

Temperament
Kašík has taken on the role of devoted father. The cassowary male looks after the eggs and the chicks on his own. He prepares a shallow nest on the ground, and once the clutch of bluish eggs is complete, he settles down on them and does not leave them for the next 50 days, keeping them warm and turning them over with care. And what is more: during all this time, he does not take in any food – at least when this occurs in the wild. When the horizontally-striped chicks finally hatch, the solicitous father leads them around, keeps them warm, feeds them and watches over them.
Kašík has always taken his responsibilities very seriously. Although he is otherwise incredibly calm and friendly, when he is raising chicks, he always defends them with unbending resolve. He places himself between them and the intruder and keeps a wary eye on his surroundings – and woe to anyone who comes close! In Prague Zoo, he has successfully raised four chicks so far – the first two in 1998 and the other two in 2000 and 2009.