General News
22 March, 2026
Rainforest baby jackpot
A MALE Southern Cassowary raising five chicks has been spotted near Mission Beach, a rare sight conservationists say has only been recorded once in the area in more than a decade.
Recorded at Charley’s Chocolate earlier this year, the sighting was described by local guides as a “rainforest jackpot”.
The male and his five chicks have been returning multiple times a day for several weeks, gorging on fallen fruit from windbreak trees and neighbouring rainforest vegetation.
While female cassowaries may lay three to five eggs, it was uncommon for an entire clutch to survive due to predators, habitat pressures and human-related threats, Charley’s Chocolate chief executive officer Chris Jahnke said.
“There’s nothing quite like spotting a male cassowary with five stripey chicks following behind,” Mr Jahnke said.
“To see them thriving here in the rainforest is incredibly special.”
The Charley’s Chocolate Mt Edna property at Mission Beach spans around 120 hectares, including about 80ha of lowland tropical rainforest, where cassowaries and other wildlife are regularly seen alongside the working cocoa plantation, which has been designed to work with the surrounding ecosystem and support habitat for species such as the Southern Cassowary.
Cassowary parenting is unique in the bird world. After laying the eggs, the female leaves and the male takes on all parental duties, incubating the eggs for around 50 days before protecting and raising the chicks.
Even under his watch, survival is difficult. On average, only one in nine cassowary chicks reaches adulthood, making the survival of a full brood remarkable.
“Seeing five stripey chicks together means this dad is doing an incredible job protecting them,” Mr Jahnke said.
The last recorded five-chick sighting in the Mission Beach area was in 2015.
Read More: Mission Beach