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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCassowary attack: giant bird kills owner in Florida after he fell.
from The Guardian:
It looks like it was accidental. My understanding is that the gentleman was in the vicinity of the bird and at some point fell. When he fell, he was attacked, the deputy chief, Jeff Taylor, told the newspaper.
Cassowaries are similar to emus. They can be up to 2 meters (6ft) tall and weigh up to 60kg (130lb), with black body feathers and bright blue heads and necks.
The San Diego zoos website calls cassowaries the worlds most dangerous bird with a 10cm dagger-like claw on each foot.
The cassowary can slice open any predator or potential threat with a single swift kick. Powerful legs help the cassowary run up to 31 miles per hour (50km/h) through the dense forest underbrush, the website says.
The Gainesville Sun says the man was breeding them, but for what purpose we can only imagine.
Yes, my Homeboy Florida Man strikes again...



Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)Not a pet.
Ligyron
(7,493 posts)I wanted to post a picture or the video linked on The Guardian site but I'm not real Web savvy.
Wow, I've seen Cassowary before but not one with spikes that huge. THAT puts raptors to shame.
All we need now in Florida is for those things to escape into the wild like the pythons. Wait, maybe they'll kill and eat the pythons!
or the Nile monitors and the giant tegu lizards and ...
Demovictory9
(31,418 posts)backscatter712
(26,355 posts)Blue_true
(31,261 posts)Why do idiots bring stuff like that into a place where it can survive in the wild if it escapes? People have enormously poisonous vipers that they are keeping in their homes. Like pythons or boas, if those things escape in the wild, they can cause havoc if the escapee is a pregnant female and it does not get caught before delivering young.
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(103,950 posts)malaise
(263,755 posts)
FakeNoose
(31,383 posts)Why was this guy breeding cassowaries, anyway?
dhol82
(9,340 posts)Beautiful bird. Large.
The males take care of the chicks.
Blue_true
(31,261 posts)run at 30 plus miles per hour and swim like an expert. Just the thing we need loose in the wild here in Florida.
The one I saw was just ambling across the road.
Made quite the traffic jam on a country road.