Cassowaries live in the rainforests of Queensland. But despite their size, they’re not easy to find, explains Steve Portugal. There can be few more imposing sights in nature than an adult cassowary. Standing nearly 2m tall and weighing up to 50kg, it is no mystery why these large, flightless birds, found in north-eastern Australia and […]
Tag: Ostrich
“It has huge back legs armed with dagger-like claws that can reach 12cm long.” 10 bonkers birds that break the rules of nature
While there are plenty of weird birds to be found in the natural world, this avian selection is particularly extraordinary. From the only bird that hibernates, to the bird that can kick a human to death, here are 10 birds that defy the norms of nature. Birds that break nature’s rules Livingstone’s turaco The bird with metal […]
With ‘terrifying’ trade in African hornbills, scientists call for increased protection
For millions of years, the African landscape — the rainforests, woodlands, savannas and scrublands — has echoed with the booms and cackles of large, raucous, strange-looking birds: hornbills. When U.S. ornithologist Nico Arcilla came to Gabon in the late 1990s as a Peace Corps volunteer, these noisy birds enchanted her. “There’d be a big flock […]
Colony of world’s highest-flying bird under threat in Uganda
LUKU CENTRAL FOREST RESERVE, Uganda — Ornithologist Ivan Oruka stops suddenly near the foot of a cliff that’s streaked with the telltale whitewash of bird droppings. He quickly presses his binoculars to his eyes. Against the clear blue sky, on a bright September morning, at least 29 large birds circle effortlessly above on broad, dark […]
Petition: Canada Must Ban Cruel and Outdated Ostrich Farming
After an avian flu outbreak at an Ostrich farm in British Columbia, the Canadian government informed the farm that it had to cull the infected ostriches – at least 400 animals in total. But it wasn’t the ostriches’ fault that humans had crammed them in farmed conditions where diseases run rampant. Canadians and Americans alike […]
Serengeti lion gallery
I was privileged to be able to visit the Western Corridor of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania in mid-September 2017 with CNP Safaris. We were based at the Grumeti Tented Camp. “To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all the while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote, To […]
