Specimen 28496 Taxidermy Mount - Kagu, Rhynochetos jubatus

Summary

Kagus are flightless grey birds with orange legs and bills. Thy are found only in forests of New Caledonia. Individuals live a long time; up to 30 years in captivity.

This specimen was donated to the Museum in 1879 by the Royal Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria which managed the Melbourne Zoological Gardens, now commonly known as Melbourne Zoo, where it had been reared.

Estimates suggest there are only a couple of thousand individual Kagus in the wild, living in in small, fragmented populations. Kagus are therefore considered Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to prevent international trade threatening them with extinction.