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The Cassowary: World’s most dangerous bird (2016)

smithsonianmag.com

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Re: The Cassowary: World’s most dangerous bird (2016)

#21

Post by interfixus »

mickael-kerjean wrote: post #10

Ive encountered a few one in the wild back in the daintree forest and I didn't got threatened at all as they were just walking through. When it comes to accidents, never heard about anything whereas the same can't be say about the salt water crocodile that live in the very same region Fun fact, the female casswory is much bigger than the male and it's considered down there as the gardener of the forest because it eat…

When I was in the Daintree region - more than thirty years ago - the recent saltwater croc takings being talked about were an American woman and a German shephard dog. Folklore was all about the crocs - I was only vaguely aware of the cassowary as a kind of weirded out ostrich.

But of course we all know that Australian fauna in just about any shape means business the hard way.

Re: The Cassowary: World’s most dangerous bird (2016)

#23

Post by etatoby »

colordrops wrote: post #15
CryptoPunk wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All birds are dinosaurs.

I suspect that most people know that - it's just that the cassowary looks a lot more like our notion of a dinosaur than other birds.

> I suspect that most people know that

I don't think so. Spielberg and colleagues clearly didn't know it, or didn't realize the depth of the connection, and they influenced the public's perception of dinosaurs to a large degree.

Re: The Cassowary: World’s most dangerous bird (2016)

#24

Post by oska »

mickael-kerjean wrote: post #10

Ive encountered a few one in the wild back in the daintree forest and I didn't got threatened at all as they were just walking through. When it comes to accidents, never heard about anything whereas the same can't be say about the salt water crocodile that live in the very same region Fun fact, the female casswory is much bigger than the male and it's considered down there as the gardener of the forest because it eat…

Yes, it really gets old the constant hyping of Australian fauna as 'dangerous', mostly it seems by US American media. Cassowaries in the wild are really not a danger to humans even though they have the potential to do possibly lethal harm. The cassowary is only going to act to defend itself; it's not a predator (unlike salties).

Re: The Cassowary: World’s most dangerous bird (2016)

#25

Post by vbuwivbiu »

nerfhammer wrote: post #6

Seeing a cassowary up close really feels like being able to see a dinosaur. They've got those three-toed dinosaur feet with legs as thick as yours, giant yellow saucer eyes, iridescent skin and a weird head horn. It watches back at you. You really feel like you're looking at a dinosaur. Only thing it's missing is the teeth and maybe forelimbs. Otherwise it's like 80% of a dinosaur.

and they can make a terrifying sound to warn you

Re: The Cassowary: World’s most dangerous bird (2016)

#26

Post by crispinb »

oska wrote: post #24
mickael-kerjean wrote: post #10

Ive encountered a few one in the wild back in the daintree forest and I didn't got threatened at all as they were just walking through. When it comes to accidents, never heard about anything whereas the same can't be say about the salt water crocodile that live in the very same region Fun fact, the female casswory is much bigger than the male and it's considered down there as the gardener of the forest because it eat…

Yes, it really gets old the constant hyping of Australian fauna as 'dangerous', mostly it seems by US American media. Cassowaries in the wild are really not a danger to humans even though they have the potential to do possibly lethal harm. The cassowary is only going to act to defend itself; it's not a predator (unlike salties).

Of course. There are attacks, but the cases are tiny in number. Anyone who has lived here knows that bogans are by far the most dangerous wildlife species here.

(It's a shame that Australia is known for its wildlife being dangerous to humans, whereas the reality -- that our humans are extremely dangerous to wildlife, often choosing to drive whole species to extinction -- is less well advertised)

Re: The Cassowary: World’s most dangerous bird (2016)

#27

Post by tdons »

OneWordSoln wrote: post #14
nerfhammer wrote: post #6

Seeing a cassowary up close really feels like being able to see a dinosaur. They've got those three-toed dinosaur feet with legs as thick as yours, giant yellow saucer eyes, iridescent skin and a weird head horn. It watches back at you. You really feel like you're looking at a dinosaur. Only thing it's missing is the teeth and maybe forelimbs. Otherwise it's like 80% of a dinosaur.

Yeah, we have one (or maybe two?) at our local zoo and the setup is such that I was able to be eye-to-eye with one of them from less than two feet. That thing held my gaze with zero fear whatsoever of me. Unbelievable experience. It's a freakin' war machine. And strikingly beautiful as well.

In Brisbane right? That's where I took this picture:

https://www.thomasdons.nl/pht/original/australia-new-zealand...

Re: The Cassowary: World’s most dangerous bird (2016)

#28

Post by markdown »

seventyhorses wrote: post #2

A cassowary recently killed a man, apparently for the first time since 1926: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/04/14/florida-ca... This article from 2008 is also interesting: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/invasion-of-th...

> A Florida man

Of course

Re: The Cassowary: World’s most dangerous bird (2016)

#29

Post by throes_death »

The only thing more dangerous than a Cassowary are the tourists that stop in the middle of the highway to photograph them. They're pretty elusive in the wild and spotting them on the edge of the bush as you drive by is the most likely scenario, so likely in fact there are signs in FNQ warning people not to stop on the road when they spot one!

Re: The Cassowary: World’s most dangerous bird (2016)

#30

Post by croisillon »

seventyhorses wrote: post #2

A cassowary recently killed a man, apparently for the first time since 1926: https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/04/14/florida-ca... This article from 2008 is also interesting: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/invasion-of-th...

That's called a cassowality
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