An endangered pair of Southern cassowaries from the Adelaide Hills have found a new home on the Far South Coast.
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Three-month-old Gorge and Adelaide were bred specifically for On The Perch Bird Park near Tathra at Gorge Wildlife Park in South Australia, and have taken a liking to chicken hearts and dog food rolls.
While the world's third largest bird is iconic for it's colouring, long claw, love of the rainforest and solitary nature, not much is known about the animal.
"They are all individuals, so you can't apply the same set of rules to them all," zoo curator Steve Sass said.
"Gorge is playful while Adelaide is focused on food."
Mr Sass said while having the iconic birds was always part of the park's plan, it has been made possible with recent regional tourism funding from Destination NSW.
"We are lucky to have them at this age," Mr Sass said.
He said the he hopes the pair will settle in to their new surroundings this week, and the public will able to take their first peek at the flightless birds on Monday.
Cassowaries can live to the age of 50, and Mr Sass said the park hopes the community can watch them grow to adult size over the next three years.
"The intent is to have them for life," Mr Sass said.
The pair eat a bucket load of food each per day, and are also known for eating their own faeces, as the food passes through their digestive system quickly.
The chicks came from a clutch of six eggs, incubated by their father, and Mr Sass said it was looking at one point as though they would not hatch.
Mr Sass aims to add 20 new species to the park, including the Cuban grassquit and the red siskin from Venezuela.
"The hardest thing about being here is getting work done," Mr Sass said with a laugh.
His 19-year-old daughter Holly has been caring for the new arrivals and spent a week with some cassowaries at Symbio Wildlife Park.
"It's going to be very exciting to see them grow," she said.
"They are naturally solitary animals so they will be kept together until they don't want to be.
"They look a lot like dinosaurs."
Recent studies suggest large, flightless birds like the ostrich, the emu and the cassowary occur in Australia, Africa and South America because their ancestors once flew long distances.
