Lauren
I know, it looks like something that came out of an ostrich-impregnated turkey, but it’s actually very dangerous.
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the Cassowaries are the world’s most dangerous birds, capable of dealing fatal blows. They are very unpredictable, aggressive creatures, especially if wounded or cornered. The Cassowary lives in the rain forests of Australia and New Guinea and are actually pretty shy animals if undisturbed, but if you get to close and it thinks you’re a threat you could receive a bone-breaking kick or get sliced by its dagger-like sharp claws. During WWII, soldiers stationed in New Guinea were warned to stay away from these birds, but some of them still became victims.
The Cassowary is also one of the most difficult animals to keep in the Zoo because of the frequent injuries suffered by Zoo keepers that look after them. I like a bird that can take care of itself, but, unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to help it very much against human cruelty and it is on the endangered species list, along with so many others…
April 18, 2008
Wow, even the birds in Australia can kill you. Another reason I won’t go to that beautiful country.
April 19, 2008
i don’t mean this in a negative light… but exotic animals are supposed to bring tourists to countries, not away from them… beside that point, Australia also has its metropolitan areas, and the “outback” can easily be traveled upon with an adequately capable guide. Showtime, if you think that the dangerous animals existing in Australia are a reason to not go to Australia, think again! Australia is beautifulll….!
April 19, 2008
As I said in my first post, it is a beautiful country. It just seems like every time I watch Discovery Channel or Animal Planet (which I do a lot) and they talk about animals/insects that are most dangerous and or poisonous most seem to be found in Australia. And to be honest it’s not mainly about the animals except sharks and snakes. It’s mostly about the insects. I think I can avoid the animals but the insects can be anywhere. I would love to actually go to Australia but I don’t know if it will happen. It may be a silly reason to some but it a legitimate concern for me AND my wife. There are other places that probably have more dangerous animals but I avoid them too!
April 19, 2008
this bird’s face real pretty, but it’s scary otherwise. u see the thing foot? and what is with that coat. looks quite eccentric.
April 22, 2008
Just another reason that Australia is the land of the most dangerous animals in the world.
April 22, 2008
I love that second pic - kinda sorta reminds me of a Blue Meanie. Sorta.
http://www.starstore.com/acatalog/blue_meanie.jpg
April 22, 2008
I’m so sick of poorly written blog entries coupled with interesting pictures.
April 22, 2008
Cool bird. The earth will be a sucky, lonely place once all of the most interesting animals have gone extinct.
April 22, 2008
GO CASSOWARIES!
The face looks like it belongs on a prehistoric animal.
April 22, 2008
Showtime shut the fuck up you moronic Americunt. Stay in your own country we don’t want you down here fucking up ours
April 22, 2008
I read somewhere that, of the ten most dangerous animals in the world, twelve are found in Australia.
Kidding aside, on one list of the ten most deadly animals in Australia, the Great White Shark was #9. #1 on the list was the box jellyfish, which is said to be the most poisonous creature on earth. The cassowary didn’t even make the list.
April 22, 2008
If you ever decide to determine a risk assessment by means other than your television, you’ll find that there are many dangers here in Australia, where wildlife barely registers on your measuring stick.
I saw on TV that there are all these terrorists blowing up buildings and stuff in the US, so maybe I will stay home.
April 22, 2008
Funny thing. I live in northeastern United States. Years ago I went on a college camping trip with a bunch of new students, including one from Hawaii. When the trip leader got through telling us about the local snakes, bugs, and poison plants that live in this part of the country, she freaked out and just about canceled the trip. I’ve lived in Connecticut all my life, grew up with most of these things in my backyard and never gave them a second thought.
There are 22 million Australians, and most of them have never laid eyes on a funnel-web spider or tiger snake, never mind a great white shark. I certainly didn’t when I visited Australia as a kid, and my parents didn’t waste a moment worrying about it, either.
You and your wife will be perfectly fine in Australia, as are virtually all of the millions of visitors every year. Don’t walk off into the bush or go swimming alone. Statistically, the most dangerous thing you’ll do there (by far) is to get into a car.
April 22, 2008
Showtime, why do you fear death?
April 22, 2008
I lived in South Australia for two years when my Dad was serving over there in the Military (Air Force). We lived out in the middle of the desert 100 miles north of Adelaide. NASA had a deep tracking station used for Satellites and other mysterous “stuff”. Being a teenager over there chasing big reds and emus, collecting lizards, biking and hiking in the outback you just learn to get over any fears of “poisonous” things. I learned that scorpions love to share your sleeping bag with you along with a numerous list of spiders and lizards. If you see a tiny cloud on the horizon find cover (not much of that in the Outback where we were) because it means flash floods or serious winds. I would go back in a heartbeat to experience it all anew.
April 22, 2008
Showtime is a retard:
Boy, you sure told him! You were on the high school debate team, weren’t you?
April 22, 2008
Wimps! I live in australia… yeah we have snakes, wasps, spiders and a heap of other crap that kills / hurts you.
But they you guys have rattle snakes and such… but you dont see them everywhere do yah :P.
Cassowaries are only in zoo’s…. you very rarly will see one in the outback without looking and tracking very hard…
Harden the fuck up USA
April 22, 2008
Well ive lived in sydney for 2 years and ive seen no snakes, one large spider that happened to be harmless - and that was in a bush cabin in Kangeroo Valley. Loads of cockatoos and parakeets, and massive bats - but none of those will hurt you.
Its a bit like refusing to visit the Smokies, or the Canadian Rockies because of bears, or New York because of the high murder rate.
April 22, 2008
Yes, Showtime, Australia is not so dangerous as many places in the States. You would probably be no safer at the Grand Canyon (rattlesnakes and cougars) or Yellowstone (bears and bison).
The people in Australia are very good, too, with a few exceptions. “Showtime is a retard” is probably a reprobate descendant of one of the criminals sent to the Botany Bay colony. No place is perfect.
April 22, 2008
You want dangerous be an Anglo and walk through any non-Anglo area of any large USA city. Especially at night. Feel the love.
April 22, 2008
Those legs are huge!!! No wonder you have to be careful, it break you with that jump kick!!
April 22, 2008
Shut up Showtime is a retard - people like you give the rest of us a bad name.
Oz is great, lived here all my life, and I’m not dead yet!
But seriously, it’s a great country. If you’ve got the money to travel you should swing by. You probably won’t see half the deadly creatures they talk about unless you visit all the different regions they live in, seeking them out. And there are always easy steps to avoid getting on the wrong side of the animals that information booths are happy to tell you about.
April 22, 2008
I’ve lived in Australia all my life, and sure I’ve seen funnel web spiders, red back spiders, millions of other spiders, snakes lying across roads and footpaths, been swooped by a pelican (I’m serious), and stung by jellyfish a lot, AND have seen sharks.
But drink a cup of concrete and harden the fuck up! I’ve taken 2 ’round the world trips and the only other country I would ever even consider living in is Canada.
April 22, 2008
As an Aussie who was raised in the U.S., I can assure you that Eddie tells it like it is. Whether it’s Australia you’re interested in, or anywhere else for that matter, you shouldn’t let silly fears put you off travelling.
BTW, are these comments really moderated? If so, how did “Showtime is a retard”’s comment get through the filter?
April 23, 2008
Suburban sydney has tiger snakes, i’ve even had one in my backyard, and all i can say is that they’re not a problem unless you decide to poke them with sticks and try piss’em off. And funnel webs are EVERYWHERE so it’s kinda hard not to see em. Had some in my mailbox before, not the nicest surprise, and they make nests in the eave’s of rooves. But just because they exist doesnt mean they’re gonna get you. I fear people more than i fear dangerous animals, animals and insects dont usually attack unless they see you as a threat or a meal.
@Reaper: lol
April 23, 2008
I live in Paphos, Cyprus and my neighbor (new Russian) has a Cassowary as a pet. She’s quite gentle and is allowed in the house when there’s no food out and about. They feed her a special diet and she scares the crap out of other pets in the vivinity.
April 23, 2008
@CozmoNz: now don’t get gettin’ all big in the pants about Australia. We have more things that can kill you dead (and by you I mean “anyone”) than any other country. Gangs, cops, and grannies with guns. Homicidal maniacs. Serial killers. Druggies. Thugs. Pimps. White supremacists. Bad drivers. Thrill seekers. Infectious diseases. Mean people. Savage dogs. Postal workers. Disgruntled university students. Jobs. Trans fats. Lead tainted toys. We also have reality TV.
So sit down in your cushy chair, pour a lager, throw a shrimp on the bar-b, and dream about the outback where Australia’s only true danger lies.
That said…I’d say we’re pretty fucking hard.
Spiders. pfft.
April 23, 2008
I live in America and have been to Australia and would go back again in a heartbeat! Yeah, they have box stingers, great whites, salties, funnel webs and such but I am still safer among them than I am in the streets of most of our cities. I have never been mugged by a dingo or had my house broken into by a gang of poisonous sea snakes.
April 23, 2008
I’d like to see a cassowarie, a funnelweb spider, an Aussie brown snake, and “Showtime is a retard” all placed in a large wine cask together. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA…
But seriously, pahtnuh…come on up to the Great American Rattlesnake Roundup and watch us real men eat rattlesnake steaks and testicles. Huh…makes me wonder how many would be out there huntin’ rattlers if rattlers didn’t have rattlers? Maybe they’d be goin’ to th’ Great American Baby Rabbit Roundup.
What the heck am I doing posting in this website, anyway?
April 23, 2008
Oh yeah, I forgot…somebody wrote:
“BTW, are these comments really moderated? If so, how did “Showtime is a retard”’s comment get through the filter?”
Hey, this is presumeably an Aussie website. “Showtime is a retard” IS the moderator!
April 23, 2008
You fearful loser. ‘Another reason why I won’t go to that beautiful country’? 20 million people live here with all this ‘deadly’ stuff. The last adult to die from a spider bite was decades ago. With all of the 25,760 (16,006.5 miles) of coastline there is almost (an average) only one shark attack a year - and us Aussies LIVE at the beach. I have been surfing and diving in ‘Great White’ waters for over 20 years and have never even seen one outside of an aquarium. I have stepped on a snake, but wasn’t remotely looking where I was walking and I was well out into the bush, but I was also dressed appropriatly so didn’t get bitten. You’ve got far more chance of winning the lottery or getting struck by lightning than getting injured by our wildlife. I bet you’de go to Africa to see the animals and they have the most dangerous animal in the world - the Hippopotamous.
Come on down and check us out, just be smart and listen to guides and locals when you go out to see things.
April 23, 2008
I believe there has not been a fatality from cassowary attack in Australia since 1927. “Australia has the most dangerous animals in the world” has been a PR triumph for our tourist industry. It keeps the wimps away too. There were cassoways living on the hill behind this suburb but they were killed off by dogs. In some areas they are dissappearing because of cars and dogs.
Y’all skip across the puddle an’ visit us.
Douglas
April 23, 2008
The Cassowary is dangerous not because it is an Australian bird, but because birds evolved from dinosaurs. Swans can also be very dangerous.
April 24, 2008
I’ve lived in Australia all my life and travelled over much of it. Don’t panic guys… the most dangerous ‘things’ are in the far north, and encounters are still rare.
I spent 3 months in nth queensland and only saw 1 Taipan as I drove past in the car - wow - huge, mean looking snake !
Very glad I was IN the car …
April 24, 2008
J,
Those bats in Sydney are the greatest. I stayed in Potts Point when I was there and got to watch them fly overhead every evening. Coolest thing ever. Also lots of sulfur-crested cockatoos. Australia (I visited Melbourne & Sydney) is one of the best trips I’ve ever taken.
April 25, 2008
Thanks to all the INTELLIGENT posts trying to ease my fears. I have been thinking about going and it’s good to know that it isn’t as bad as I thought. Unfortunately the television and web are where I have received most of my information on the country. It’s always best to hear from those that live there. How bad could it be? After all, I did grow up in Detroit.
April 25, 2008
Few people know that there is actually no such bird as a Cassowary. This is what happens to a kiwi bird if you get it really angry.
April 25, 2008
Australians say “y’all”? Well, I feel a kinship now.
I’d love nothing better than to leave the scorpions, cottonmouths, rattlers, black widows, palmetto bugs (not poisonous, just icky flying cockroaches) to visit Australia!
April 28, 2008
I’m from Sydney and drive to central Queensland three times a year in the outback the only worries I have are the kangaroos jumping in front off the car and writing it off
April 29, 2008
Australia is BEAUTIFULL,
but considering that is built by ancestors of the worst criminals from EUROPE the GENS of today people are inherited from those criminals.
Thank you AUSTRALIA but I am safe here in EU.
May 7, 2008
damn its emu off rod hull and emu dont think ill be sticking my hand up this birds arse.
May 7, 2008
oh btw i think the Guinness Book of Records should have come to dover uk the birds here are well dangerous gonorrhea syphilis are just a few of their weapons of choice and their claws are nearly as sharp as their mouths, nasty
May 7, 2008
ye its hard to believe that kyle minogues great great great grand dad was a mass murdering serial rapist
May 31, 2008
Cassowarie is very beautiful!!! thank you.
June 4, 2008
that is sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo scary like aaaaaaaahhhhhhh wow
August 1, 2008
While in Australia walking through the rainforest my son and I spotted a cassowary. We approached to about 15-20 feet after which we went no closer and observed the animal feeding on cassowary plums for about 10 minutes. It kept its eye on us but showed no sign of agression or feeling threatened. So no worries! Just don’t get too close give it some space and don’t startle the animal. They only attack when they feel you are threatening them.
September 22, 2008
it’s not like they are everywhere, Australia is a beautiful country to come to, its like what my parents always say to me ‘they won’t hurt you if you don’t hurt ther’
October 21, 2008
you look so dum and lam and aren’t you old like in your 30s and aren’t you to old for trick or tearting get over it your to old
November 11, 2008
when i went to australia ,i saw this majestic creature .its eyes were shining like a cats eye. it was a very strong bird .i cant understand one thing about this bird that how can its thin and long legs supported a huge and a dangerous body??well,it was a wonderful experienc with cassowaries in australia.
November 18, 2008
thanks for creating the buzz that fueled this great exchange of information showtime
November 19, 2008
Stana
Australia is BEAUTIFULL,
but considering that is built by ancestors of the worst criminals from EUROPE the GENS of today people are inherited from those criminals.
Thank you AUSTRALIA but I am safe here in EU.
————–
You’re joking, right?
Europe was overrun with criminals so they sent some of them to Australia.
Hmm, so where did the criminals come from….? Oh, right! Europe.
So by your theory, we’re both descended from criminals, and therefore we MUST be dangerous…
Oh, wait. I’m from South Australia - a state that was colonised by free settlers, not convicts.
Guess it’s just you then!
November 20, 2008
Hey guys,
I’m from Canberra, for any foreigners who don’t know, that is the capital city.
I face dangerous creatures every day here, they are called politicians!!!
I went camping in the bush a couple of days ago, out with those funnel webs, ticks and bull ants!
I saw goannas (who were incredibly indifferent to us) and a few possums (who ate all our chocolate biscuits which we carelessly left out over night) but the only scarey thing about the whole trip was the pit drop toilet!!! wow! what a smell!!
We have more bugs then Europe and more venomous spiders then half the world, but America has cougers and bears which are both highly intelligent as far as I know.
P.s cassowuries are fine. If you treat any creature with respect, and dont leave out your biscuits, you’ll be fine where ever you go.
November 22, 2008
I would not wish to meet such bird
December 7, 2008
Few people know that there is actually no such bird as a Cassowary. This is what happens to a kiwi bird if you get it really angry.
December 14, 2008
I think your language messed up your country. You are a good reason not to visit.
December 16, 2008
Cassowaries (genus Casuarius) are very large flightless birds native to the tropical forests of New Guinea and northeastern Australia.))) Not Australia!!
December 29, 2008
that is just cool looking
January 26, 2009
australia isnt deadly place or scary or butifull. new zealands got the most deadly animals liek moa,s and dogs and cats and dinosuars and the rare purple dragons. or u can just go to a pub and say either im autrailian or i havnt seen lords of the rings(i dont know y but it was made here so i think thats y) and everyone will try killing you. or walk otara streets at night and get stabbed by are deadly maori species or animals. so austrlia with its spiders and snakes are no match. oh and we have jesus he pretty deadly as well when hes angery.
January 26, 2009
hes right i guess all americans are fat.
February 24, 2009
It is a real shame that my 9 year old daughter came across your explosive writing while researching the cassowary. Think about it before fulfilling your immature need for attention (which I have unfortunately given you). Lucky for me that my daughter understands that not all of her fellow Aussies are so obnoxious. Our country is beautiful, and most of us are friendly and intellegent. I guess though that every rose has its thorns.
April 23, 2009
Some people can sure find stupid reasons to get hostile!
June 22, 2009
[...] Guiness Book of World Records lists the cassowary as the world’s most dangerous bird. They live in the tropical areas of New Guinea and northern Australia, where it is an endangered [...]
June 30, 2009
For many years I used to fly into Darwin. While there I’d catch the sights and see the local widlife. The most amazing creatures were not out in the outback, but rather could be found in the pubs The local blokes would turn into werewolves after they drank about 10 pints, and I’d rather sleep with a saltwater croc than share a tent with one of them!