Nowadays there are still fragments of temperate rainforest, mostly in the cooler, wetter areas of Tasmania and along the east and south-eastern coasts. The most luxuriant rainforest is to be found in the northern tropics, where it grows in tiny remnants in the far north-east.

Rainforests were growing here 100 million years ago when Australia was still attached to its Gondwanan neighbours. Although they cover only 0.001% of Australia's land surface, these very old forests are full of wildlife, with more animal and plant species than any other Australian environment.

Like the emu, the cassowary is flightless, but can swim. The cassowary's diet consists largely of fruit and these birds are important dispersers of rainforest seeds. They are formidable creatures and will kick if cornered – especially hazardous because they have sharply clawed toes. Unfortunately cassowaries are becoming rarer through habitat loss as the human demand for agricultural land encroaches on their territories.