Birds are dinosaurs.
Guess you've heard that before.
But there is one bird in particular that has an uncanny resemblance
with the velociraptor.
And that's the cassowary.
This imposing creature has been labeled the world's deadliest bird.
A dubious honor. But is it deserved?
If you come across this giant bird, will it
chase and attack you like you just fell into Jurassic World?
Or are we exaggerating the danger?
To find out if cassowaries are really the stuff of nightmares.
I've been looking at the facts
and videos with some pretty scary “Big Bird” confrontations.
But first things first.
Who are we actually talking about?
There are three species of cassowary.
We're talking about the largest, the Southern Cassowary,
which lives in the ancient tropical rainforests of Australia's
far north, where they call it the dinosaur bird.
Cassowaries and all other birds really are living dinosaurs.
They come from a lineage known as Theropods the only dinosaurs to survive
the mass extinction, which happened around 66 million years ago.
Some theropods were able to fly. As cassowaries evolved
they eventually lost this ability.
They grew larger. Their wings grew smaller.
Until all that was left were these sad looking quills.
Cassowaries traded a life of freedom in the skies for the ground and nature
endowed them with some very effective weapons to stay safe.
There's no doubt you don't want to mess with those feet.
A cassowary food has three toes, one with a long dagger-like claw.
Its feet are attached to a set of incredibly muscular legs
capable of propelling the bird well over a meter off the ground.
When threatened, the Cassowary uses that power to kick
its legs forward and down in one sharp movement.
A very efficient technique for disemboweling.
And in case that isn't enough, it can also stomp
on its victims.
Technically speaking, it does look like the cassowary is a very dangerous bird.
However, their killer rate is low.
They've killed two people since 1926.
The first, a boy who was fatally wounded after his dog attacked the cassowary.
And in 2019, a cassowary breeder who was killed by one of his captive birds.
To put that into perspective, every year in the US pet dogs
kill up to 50 people and bite more than 4.5 million.
About 200 cassowary attacks are reported every year.
They can chase, charge, push, peck, head-butt
or in the worst case, jump on their victims.
Yet by nature, cassowaries are shy, solitary birds
that normally avoid humans.
In fact, adult cassowaries barely tolerate one another's company except between
May and November, when the urge to mate brings these big birds together.
Once the female lays her eggs, she exits the scene for good,
leaving the male to sit on them for up to 50 days until they hatch.
Cassowary males aren't just Mr. Moms, but also single parents.
They raise the chicks and are extremely protective of them
every minute of the day.
It's a bad time to encounter a cassowary father in the wild.
One of those situations when it helps to know exactly how to act,
which we will explain to you later.
Normally, coming
across a cassowary in the forest doesn't result in a confrontation.
But beware, they are territorial birds
and can chase off trespassers and aggressors at great speed.
They've been clocked at speeds of up to 50 kilometers an hour.
That's faster than Usain Bolt.
And he didn't have to run through dense vegetation
when they're not crashing through the forest at full throttle.
Cassowaries are like phantoms.
You may not even be aware when a cassowary is close
until you have that creepy feeling that someone or something
is watching or even swimming with you.
And this is exactly what happened to my colleague Ruth
when on location in Far North Queensland feeling cassowaries.
She entered this waterhole to escape the heat and biting insects.
Then she got that creepy feeling.
When she turned around, she discovered this cassowary had joined her.
I would have freaked out.
She slowly left the waterhole to watch from behind a tree.
This cassowary is big, a female about 1.5 meters tall and at least 50 kilos.
Females are larger than males and has a more impressive cask on their heads.
After 15 minutes, Ruth left to the forest as silently as she had arrived.
Encountering a cassowary in the wild has the potential to be dangerous.
If the bird feels threatened, it's still flying.
But the majority of cassowary attacks don't occur that way.
70% of aggressive encounters happen because cassowaries
have become habituated to humans. Why?
Because we started hand-feeding them.
And at least since watching Jurassic Park, we all know: never feed a dinosaur.
But some people think that feeding cassowaries helps them.
Others are looking for a special connection with this wild,
ancient creature by having them peck food out of their hands.
But the giant beak can do serious damage.
Feeding cassowaries has taken their natural fear of humans away.
They become bold and aggressive when they want food.
Even if you don't have any intention of feeding them, they can pursue
and harass you.
Cassowaries have become masters of intimidation.
Our actions have changed their natural behavior and placed them at risk.
It's official.
Feeding cassowaries can kill them when cassowaries leave the forests
in search of an easy meal.
They are in danger of being hit by a car or attacked by pet dogs.
So is the Cassowary the world's deadliest bird?
Well, it definitely has the weapons to do some major damage and true
it has injured and on the very rare
occasion, even killed people when provoked or threatened.
But the chances to suffer a cassowary attack are minimal.
In fact, there are only an estimated 4400 left in the wild in Australia.
So they are the endangered ones, not us.
But anyway, if you are lucky enough to see one of those iconic birds in the wild.
Here are a few tips to help make the encounter a safe,
awesome experience, without igniting your deepest primal fear.
Remember, this is a wild animal, not a giant chicken.
You might see chickens but never feed a cassowary and don't leave
food scraps lying around.
Keep your distance.
Don't approach cassowaries.
They're unpredictable.
And if the tables are turned and you are the one being approached,
resist the temptation to turn your back and run away.
Remember, they can run faster than you.
Instead, keep your head.
Stay calm and slowly back away.
One last thing.
It's not a cassowary that's most likely to hurt you
in the tropical Australian rainforests.
It's a plant.
But this is another story.
So please subscribe and see you next time.