So what should you do if you meet a cassowary in the wild (or indeed on your property)? Environmental organization Rainforest Rescue, which set up the Save the Cassowary campaign in response to the decline of southern cassowaries in Australia, has issued some top tips to protect both people and the birds from harm. There are already certain coastal resorts, such as Queensland's Mission Beach and Moresby Range, where cassowaries are becoming a regular sight, wandering past sunbathers and even into local residents' gardens. This is far worse for these birds than it is for humans, as many are killed by vehicles and dogs every year. This can only result in more human-cassowary encounters going forward.
What's concerning is that the dense rainforest habitat favoured by cassowaries – particularly on the north-eastern coast of Australia – is being diminished by property developers, conversion into farmland and the encroachment of associated infrastructure such as roads and fences. Quite the contrary: like most animals, these birds would much rather avoid conflict, only choosing fight over "flight" as a last resort if they feel their lives – or those of their young – are endangered. While cassowaries are certainly equipped to kill, they do not seek out trouble. In fact, the deadliest animals of them all are no bigger than your thumbnail. In terms of dangerous animals, you are far more likely to fall foul of a snake bite or even an infection transmitted by dogs – "man’s best friend" – than you are these birds – even if there's something particularly Velociraptor-like about their appearance. It was when McClean was on the ground that he received a fatal blow to the neck. The last-known victim was 16-year-old hunter Phillip McClean, who tripped while fleeing from a bird in Australia in April 1926. The claw on the inner toe is particularly formidable, reaching lengths of 12 cm (5 in)! If a cassowary feels threatened, it will leap up and strike out with these dagger-like weapons, inflicting potentially lethal wounds to internal organs and causing severe bleeding.Īlthough this avian family are widely considered the most dangerous birds, this is the first confirmed human death attributed to a cassowary in 93 years.
Muscular legs that can pack a powerful kick terminate with three claw-tipped toes. The anatomy that makes them so dangerous lies lower down. Though size varies across the three different species (see end of article), cassowaries can stand up to 2 m (6 ft 6 in) tall and weigh as much as 60 kg (132 lb) – the equivalent of six mute swans, which are the heftiest birds native to the UK.Ĭassowaries are certainly striking to look at, with a vivid blue face, two red wattles (flaps of skin) hanging from their neck and a hollow "helmet", known as a casque, atop their heads. They are native to the tropical forests of south-east Asia and Australia. So what exactly is a cassowary? Like their cousins the emus, these large, flightless birds with bristly feathers are ratites. This means an owner must satisfy a number of tests and acquire a special permit from the local authorities to legally keep them.
The exotic birds in question weren't parrots or canaries, however… Along with animals such as alligators and wild cats, cassowaries are listed as Class II wildlife in Florida, owing to the risk that they pose. His injuries were so severe that he later died in hospital.
Last Friday (12 April 2019), a 75-year-old man was attacked by (at least) one of the exotic birds that he rears on his property in Florida, USA.
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