Cassowaries mainly eat fallen rainforest fruit, but they are technically omnivorous and occasionally consume fungi, insects, snails, frogs, fish, small birds, rodents, eggs, and carrion. Fruit remains the foundation of their natural diet. By swallowing fruit whole and depositing intact seeds elsewhere, cassowaries help regenerate tropical forests and support plant diversity. Despite their dangerous reputation, they do not hunt or eat humans. Here are ten foods cassowaries commonly or occasionally consume in the wild.
Are Cassowaries Herbivores or Omnivores?
Cassowaries are often described as primarily frugivorous omnivores. This means they specialize in eating fruit but can supplement their diet with animal matter and other foods.
Southern cassowaries usually search the rainforest floor for ripe fruit that has fallen from the canopy. Queensland authorities have recorded more than 230 plant species in their diet, showing how strongly these birds depend on diverse tropical forests.
| Main food group | Importance in the diet |
| Fallen fruit | Primary food |
| Fungi and plant material | Occasional supplements |
| Insects and snails | Additional protein |
| Small vertebrates and eggs | Opportunistic foods |
| Carrion | Occasionally eaten |
10 Foods in The Cassowary’s Diet
Cassowaries are primarily fruit eaters, but they have an adaptable omnivorous diet. Most of their food comes from ripe fruit that falls onto the rainforest floor, including berries and large-seeded native fruits. They may also eat fungi, insects, snails, frogs, small reptiles, eggs, rodents, and carrion when available. The following ten foods represent the main and occasional items found in a cassowary’s natural diet.
1. Fallen Rainforest Fruit
Fallen fruit is the most important food in a cassowary’s diet. Because cassowaries cannot fly into the canopy, they walk across the forest floor and collect ripe fruit dropped by trees.
They often swallow fruit whole rather than tearing it apart. Their large mouths and flexible throats allow them to consume surprisingly bulky fruits containing large seeds. The Australian Museum describes fallen fruit as their principal food.
Seasonal fruit availability influences where cassowaries travel. A bird may cover a considerable area while moving between fruiting trees.
2. Cassowary Plums and Other Large Fruits
Cassowaries can swallow large-seeded fruits that many smaller animals cannot manage. One well-known example is the cassowary plum, a blue rainforest fruit containing a substantial seed.
The fruit’s flesh provides energy, while the seed passes through the bird’s digestive system and is deposited elsewhere in its droppings. This makes the cassowary particularly valuable for trees whose seeds are too large for smaller birds to disperse.
Cassowaries can consume certain native fruits that would be unsuitable or toxic to many other animals, but people should never assume those fruits are safe for human consumption.
3. Berries and Small Fleshy Fruits
Cassowaries also consume berries and smaller fleshy fruits found on low branches or the forest floor. They may pick food directly from low vegetation, but most feeding occurs at ground level.
Their diet changes as different plants fruit throughout the year. Consuming numerous fruit species helps provide a continuous food supply while allowing seeds from many rainforest plants to move between forest patches.
Although a cassowary may readily swallow an apple in captivity, apples are not a natural Australian rainforest food and should never be used to attract wild birds.
4. Fungi
Cassowaries occasionally eat fungi growing in moist forest habitats. Fungi are secondary foods rather than the main component of their diet.
They may become more useful when ripe fruit is temporarily scarce. Both official Wet Tropics information and zoological diet records include fungi among the foods eaten by cassowaries.
Wild birds should be allowed to locate natural foods rather than being offered mushrooms or other human-supplied items.
5. Insects
Cassowaries eat insects opportunistically while foraging through leaves, fallen fruit, and forest debris. Possible prey includes beetles, larvae, and other invertebrates encountered on the ground.
Insects provide protein but represent only a minor portion of the diet. Cassowaries are not active insect hunters in the manner of insect-eating birds; they take insects when they are easily available.
6. Snails and Other Invertebrates
Snails are regularly included in descriptions of the cassowary diet. A cassowary may pick them up while searching damp areas beneath vegetation and around fallen fruit.
Other small invertebrates may also be eaten when encountered. Their consumption demonstrates that cassowaries are not strict herbivores, even though fruit overwhelmingly dominates their feeding behavior.
7. Frogs
Cassowaries occasionally consume frogs found on the rainforest floor or near water. Frogs are supplementary prey rather than a major food source.
The bird does not rely on hunting frogs for survival. It is more likely to seize a small frog encountered during ordinary foraging, especially when seasonal fruit is less plentiful.
8. Fish and Small Reptiles
Fish, lizards, and other small vertebrates may occasionally be eaten. A cassowary could encounter fish in shallow water or consume a small reptile it can easily capture.
These foods are uncommon compared with fruit, and cassowaries should not be classified as specialized predators. Their feeding strategy is largely opportunistic: they consume accessible animal matter without routinely chasing large prey.
Claims that cassowaries commonly hunt large snakes or other substantial animals are exaggerated. Small prey is more consistent with documented dietary information.
9. Small Birds and Eggs
Cassowaries may eat small birds, chicks, or eggs when the opportunity arises. This does not mean they regularly raid nests or depend on birds as food.
Official Wet Tropics information lists small birds and eggs among their occasional foods. These animal foods add dietary variety but form a very small proportion of what cassowaries consume.
They do not eat ostriches, emus, or other large birds.
10. Rodents and Carrion
Small rodents such as mice may be consumed occasionally. Cassowaries may also eat carrion, including small dead mammals encountered while moving through the forest.
The Australian Museum specifically notes that their diet can range from snails to small dead mammals. Carrion feeding is opportunistic and should not be confused with active hunting of large animals.
What Do Baby Cassowaries Eat?
Male cassowaries care for the chicks after hatching and guide them through the forest. Young cassowaries learn where and how to find food while following their father.
Their diet includes soft fallen fruit and small food items appropriate for their size. As they grow, they become capable of swallowing larger fruit and taking the same occasional supplements eaten by adults.
People should never approach chicks or attempt to feed them. The adult male may defend them, and human feeding can teach young birds to approach roads, houses, and people for food.
What Do Cassowaries Eat in Captivity?
Accredited zoos provide nutritionally managed diets rather than simply feeding unlimited sweet fruit. At the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, cassowaries receive foods including grapes, papaya, bananas, apples, tomatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots.
Captive diets should be planned by professional animal-care staff. Wild cassowaries should not be offered apples, bread, processed food, pet food, or kitchen scraps.
Feeding wild birds may cause them to:
- Lose their natural fear of people
- Approach homes, campsites, and cars
- Demand food aggressively
- Cross roads more frequently
- Become vulnerable to dogs and vehicle strikes
Do Cassowaries Eat Meat?
Yes, but only occasionally. Cassowaries may consume insects, snails, frogs, fish, small reptiles, birds, eggs, rodents, and carrion.
This makes them omnivorous, although their ecological role and digestive system are strongly associated with fruit eating. Describing them simply as meat-eating predators would therefore be inaccurate.
Do Cassowaries Eat Humans?
No. Cassowaries do not hunt, kill, or consume humans as prey. They can seriously injure people with defensive kicks, but attacks generally involve feeling threatened, being cornered, protecting chicks, or expecting food after being fed by humans.
Stories about cassowaries being “man-eating birds” confuse their defensive capabilities with their diet.
What Eats Cassowaries?
Healthy adults have few natural predators because they are large, powerful, and capable of defending themselves. Eggs, chicks, and young birds are more vulnerable than adults.
Potential threats include:
- Feral pigs that consume eggs
- Large reptiles capable of taking chicks
- Domestic and feral dogs
- Humans in regions where cassowaries are traditionally hunted
- Large crocodiles in suitable habitats
Habitat destruction and vehicle collisions are also major dangers, although they are not forms of predation.
Why Is Their Diet Important to Rainforests?
Cassowaries are sometimes called rainforest gardeners because they transport seeds from one area to another. They swallow fruit, digest the flesh, and pass many seeds relatively undamaged in nutrient-rich droppings.
Their ability to move large seeds between fragmented forest patches makes them especially important to rainforest regeneration and plant diversity.
FAQs
What fruit do cassowaries eat?
Cassowaries consume many native rainforest fruits, ranging from small berries to large-seeded fruits such as cassowary plums. The exact selection varies with habitat, location, and season. They usually collect ripe fruit after it falls onto the forest floor.
Can cassowaries eat apples?
Cassowaries can physically eat apples, and accredited zoos may include them within a controlled diet. However, people should never give apples or other foods to wild cassowaries because feeding encourages dangerous food-seeking behavior and increases risks from roads and dogs.
Do cassowaries eat snakes?
They may occasionally consume small reptiles, potentially including small snakes, but snakes are not a significant part of their normal diet. Fruit remains their primary food, with animal prey taken opportunistically.
Do cassowaries eat pebbles?
Cassowaries may swallow small stones or grit that can assist the muscular gizzard in processing food. These objects are not eaten for nutrition and should not be confused with normal food items.
Can people eat cassowary meat or eggs?
Cassowaries have historically been used as food in parts of New Guinea, but hunting, possessing, or consuming them may be restricted or illegal depending on the species and location. Their conservation status and local wildlife laws must always be respected.
