Cassowaries are large, solitary rainforest birds with complex habitat needs. Keeping them in zoos poses significant welfare challenges around space, social management, and stress minimisation.
Cassowaries in captivity present welfare challenges that many institutions underestimate. Their solitary nature means that housing two individuals together outside the brief breeding window causes chronic stress and aggression. Enclosures that lack dense plantings, varied terrain, or adequate size force these wide-ranging birds into repetitive pacing. Visitor proximity and noise can trigger sustained vigilance responses. Best-practice institutions provide large naturalistic enclosures with refugia, carefully managed keeper interactions using protected contact protocols, and avoid exhibiting cassowaries in high-traffic areas where noise levels cannot be controlled.