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Cassowary and Volunteer from the Audience.

  • Media owner okapikpr
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This guest unknowingly held out a grape as a cassowary ran up behind him and picked it out of his hand. November 2008.
This guest unknowingly held out a grape as a cassowary ran up behind him and picked it out of his hand. November 2008.
 
WTF is that golden thing on the right of the photo. It looks like the face was carved with a shovel. LOL
 
Whoa that's a bit dangerous!
 
This is an absoultly safty risk, which would be not allowed in europe. Altough they removed the long claws of the bird, the cassowary is still able to hurt or kill a human.
 
"Now I need a volunteer from the audience that has lost his or her will to live, and doesn't mind being disemboweled in public."

Me, me, me! Choose me!

Not.
 
Whilst these are birds to be treated with respect, and I cannot believe any UK council would permit this stunt, there is evidence that cassowaries' belligerence towards humans has been exaggerated.

Of 221 attacks studied, 150 were against humans. 75% of these were from cassowaries that had been fed by people. 71% of the time the bird chased or charged the victim. 15% of the time they kicked. Of the attacks, 73% involved the birds expecting or snatching food, 5% involved defending natural food sources, 15% involved defending themselves from attack, 7% involved defending their chicks or eggs. Of all 150 attacks there was only one human death.[22]

The one documented human death caused by a cassowary was on 6 April 1926. 16-year old Phillip McClean and his brother, aged 13, came across a cassowary on their property and decided to kill it by striking it with clubs. The bird kicked the younger boy, who fell and ran away as his older brother struck the bird. The cassowary then charged and knocked the older McClean to the ground and kicked him in the neck, opening a 1.25 cm (0.49 in) wound. The boy managed to escape, but died shortly afterwards as a result of his injuries.[21]

from Kofron, Christopher P. (2003) "Case histories of attacks by the southern cassowary in Queensland" Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 49(1) 335-338
 
So it attacked in defence of it's own life not quite the turn of events I was told but certainly the same story, and from that they are now called deadly:confused:

More people are killed each week by dog bites i will bet than unprovoked wild animals.
Dean
 

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