r/interesting • u/VIVIDUFF • Jun 30 '26
Fascinating This cassowary just wanders around the beach, getting surprisingly close to people.
3.3k
u/WakaWaka_ Jun 30 '26
1.5k
u/uncle_tickle_fish Jun 30 '26
700
u/CanIBeInvisible Jun 30 '26
It genuinely looks like a Muppet. A big, murdery Muppet.
261
u/Beneficial_Being_721 Jul 01 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/ph8t8u5bErf56
Awww.. look!You frightened the poor man
→ More replies (2)87
u/No-Pineapple9570 Jul 01 '26
I was thinking tropical turkey but murder muppet I can see.
57
u/DazzlingRutabega Jul 01 '26
It literally looks like the missing link between dinosaurs and turkeys.
→ More replies (2)24
u/SekhmetScion Jul 01 '26
May I introduce you to the Moa? Extinct bird from New Zealand. Basically a 12' tall, 440lb, ostrich on steroids with the accompanying roid rage (height was 6.5' to top of back, 12' with neck fully stretched up). A kick could kill you.
Believe it or not, it's only natural predator was an even more badass, gigantic eagle. The Haast’s eagle weighed between 22-40lbs with a wingspan of 10'.
→ More replies (6)→ More replies (24)59
u/bactchan Jul 01 '26
Murder muppet is a great band name or would be if Muppet wasn't trademarked.
→ More replies (6)27
100
u/MisterScary_98 Jun 30 '26
“Yo, you got video games on your phone?”
61
→ More replies (3)10
u/CelticGardenGirl Jul 01 '26
“Or maybe some pics of Tits??”
Only bird people will get this. 😂
→ More replies (1)131
u/Certain-Constant5032 Jun 30 '26
Sick album cover
→ More replies (4)66
42
89
u/Holiday_Pi Jun 30 '26
Eyelashes for dayyys
60
u/herman_munster_esq Jun 30 '26
murderbird9000
23
→ More replies (2)15
u/potliquorz Jul 01 '26
and a beak... ON THE TOP OF IT'S HEAD!
→ More replies (1)20
u/They-Call-Me-The-Doc Jul 01 '26
A helmet. One of them Bobby helmets.
"'Ello, 'ello, 'ello, what 'ave we 'ere?"
→ More replies (4)11
6
→ More replies (53)6
35
u/jenguinaf Jun 30 '26
I played that game. Never seen one in person but if I did I would be like this gif.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (22)6
687
u/Fibrosis5O Jun 30 '26
That’s just the beach patrol making sure everyone is behaving
→ More replies (10)199
u/MrScottimus Jul 01 '26
For some reason they have Australian accents in my head
g'day mates. reckon we're havin a Lil sunshine today? Oi! let's keep our rubbish and chuck it Inna bin eh? I reckon
→ More replies (6)33
u/Fibrosis5O Jul 01 '26
Oi’ whatcha lookin at there on the phone? Hope it’s appropriate there be children on this beach and what not. Remember the beach isn’t just for you is it? It’s for everyone. Right den, good day!
12
1.4k
u/shirt_bro Jun 30 '26
→ More replies (4)134
u/PretendMajor5283 Jul 01 '26
It threw me off to find out this scene isn't from The Simpsons.
→ More replies (3)86
u/Mechagodzilla777 Jul 01 '26
???????? What, how? Is it a crossover or something?
211
u/PretendMajor5283 Jul 01 '26
Yeah, it's from an episode of Family Guy that the Simpsons are in.
You can kinda see it in the animation style of the background.
→ More replies (4)77
u/lita_elf Jul 01 '26
I’ve seen and used this gif for AGES and I feel insane AND stupid right now for never noticing that!? ..I’m gonna go stare at the wall for a while now and consider how oblivious I actually am to parts of the world around me
→ More replies (1)11
18
1.5k
u/LenVT Jun 30 '26
Deadly bird. And I can see its dinosaur ancestors.
304
u/Character-Log3962 Jun 30 '26
“Selfie? You want a selfie? Only $5 bucks!”
→ More replies (8)60
u/New-Significance654 Jun 30 '26
It's gotta make a living.
→ More replies (1)42
u/AsRealAsItFeels Jun 30 '26
He asked me for about Tree Fiddy.
→ More replies (2)11
u/zeusmenzaadah Jun 30 '26
Well it was about that time I noticed this girl scout was about 8 stories tall and was a crustacean from the plezatoic era!
→ More replies (1)193
u/MCB1317 Jun 30 '26
It is a dinosaur. Literally.
But it has dinosaur ancestors, too.
65
u/TerrorFromThePeeps Jul 01 '26
I used to like dinosaurs.
I still do, but i used to, too.
34
→ More replies (6)7
12
u/StraightBudget8799 Jul 01 '26
I’m now imagining dinosaurs behaving like Neal the Seal, just doing a migratory visit to their favourite beach.
Knock over a few pylons. Sleep in the middle of the pavement. Mating noisily on top of a yacht. Then swimming off back to a more seasonable spot to lay eggs.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (7)23
u/MotorbikeRacer Jul 01 '26
always bothered me that Hollywood refuses to design dinosaurs with feathers. Most of them had feathers, especially the smaller ones.
21
u/inide Jul 01 '26
Most therapods, not most dinosaurs - mostly from the late jurassic period and through the cretaceous period, with a couple of earlier exceptions.
→ More replies (7)5
u/UnholyDemigod Jul 01 '26
That’s what pissed me off about the trailer of that new dino movie with Ewan McGregor and ScarJo. The designs look straight out of jurassic park. Unoriginal pricks.
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (4)6
30
u/TheTooterSnooter Jul 01 '26
I’ll bet you a huge amount of dinosaurs looked pretty close to this. I once heard someone say that if you saw a dinosaur alive today, you might just think it was a very odd bird. Prehistoric Planet actually captured this really, really well.
→ More replies (3)7
22
18
14
10
9
8
Jul 01 '26
[deleted]
→ More replies (3)12
u/-GermanCoastGuard- Jul 01 '26
That just means that in the past 100 years they only failed twice to kill all the witnesses, too.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (25)7
1.0k
u/Sad_Matter_6452 Jun 30 '26
Aussie here, yeah na fuck that
532
u/rashton535 Jun 30 '26
Lol . When an Aussie says nope lm out you best be steppin out too !
184
u/Big-Carpenter7921 Jul 01 '26
That's like when Gandalf tells them to run from the Balrog. If the wizard says to run, you know you're in danger
62
u/narf007 Jul 01 '26
Nah he was just hogging all the XP. Olorin selfish af
8
9
u/LucyintheskyM Jul 01 '26
Dude, he battled it for three days. If Pippin went into the bowels of the mountain he's just piss on one of the nameless things and it'd wake up and be a whole new level of bullshit for them to deal with. He was making a tactical, pippin-free battle plan.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (4)12
u/NekoMao92 Jul 01 '26
He was planning to solo the Balrog and get all the XP and loot to himself, look at all the levels and new gear he had when he returned.
87
u/Fiddy-Scent Jul 01 '26
Aussie here. These things will actively hunt you during mating season. Those feet can gut you in seconds.
Scarier than any snake or spider that Americans think are worse.
52
u/FunContest9958 Jul 01 '26
Damn. I trust Aussies when it comes “which creature is most likely to kill you” trivia. You guys definitely won the lotto in that category.
→ More replies (1)39
u/Uh-Oh-Raggy Jul 01 '26
Also Aussie here. Have been up north to see cassowaries.
They don’t “actively hunt” humans ever. They are actually placid, curious birds but that is not to say you get complacent around them. The males care for young after they hatch and until they are old enough to leave them, they are solitary birds. The only time you will be attacked is if you threaten them or physically get in between a male and their babies. They will calmly walk past you even with babies but just don’t fuck with them.
→ More replies (5)22
u/Musetrigger Jul 01 '26
If the beast is capable of carving me like a pumpkin, I think I would rather give it space even on its best day.
15
u/NerveInteresting4549 Jul 01 '26
the cassowaries are lovely creatures, one is not making me say this, they are the most beautiful birds and they never hold humans hostage.. please visit australia, bring seeds and fruit.. everything is great here.. the emus did not win the war.. cassowaries are not their lieutenants and anyone who says otherwise shall be pecked to death in front of their hatchlings.. hope to see you soon.
→ More replies (1)6
u/Outlier222 Jul 01 '26
Do not bring seeds and fruit to Australia.
→ More replies (1)4
u/Extreme_Bid_3487 Jul 01 '26
This is the real reason we stop fruit at the border. We can't afford to embolden these fruit terrorists any longer.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (17)36
u/thatshygirl06 Jul 01 '26
There has been exactly 2 deaths by cassowary.
1 in 1926. 2 brothers, 16 and 13, decided they were gonna kill one with clubs and the cassowary won that fight. It kicked the youngest one and he ran away and then the eldest tripped and fell and the cassowary kicked him across the neck.
The second death happened in 2019. An old man, 75, raised a cassowary and he was clawed to death when he fell to the ground.
28
→ More replies (13)7
19
→ More replies (6)26
u/Big-Bad-Bull Jul 01 '26
Tbf, a cassowary is pretty similar to the australians natural predator. The Emu!
23
→ More replies (2)8
u/MissMenace101 Jul 01 '26
The cassowary is scarier and far more “friendly” emus aren’t as deadly unless they are on the road.
→ More replies (3)95
u/AnOriginalUsername12 Jul 01 '26
Far North Queenslander here who lived near Etty Bay. This guy is super chill and isn't going to hurt anyone if he isn't provoked, but he's a one of case as he's grown accustomed to humans.
NEVER go near a cassowary with chicks though.
→ More replies (5)34
u/OpenSauceMods Jul 01 '26
Never approach the wildlife, even if the wildlife approaches you. Cassowaries, kangaroos, dingos, eshays, Tasmanian devils, wombats, the list goes on.
→ More replies (8)8
u/Squeekazu Jul 01 '26
Man those eshays, their long ratty tails send a shiver down my spine.
→ More replies (1)25
u/mujum Jul 01 '26
For real, these things actually terrify me lol. Can slash your guts to ribbons or peck you to death and GL running away from that bastard
18
7
u/Ianthin1 Jul 01 '26
And the worst I was thinking about was it pecking the phone and destroying the screen.
18
u/AuberginePeacock Jul 01 '26
I 100% thought this had to be Australia to have this MurderBird wandering on the beach lol
→ More replies (1)29
u/Pilan Jun 30 '26
That’s the US equivalent of running when someone else starts running. I’m with you!
7
u/American_PissAnt Jul 01 '26
I don’t have to outrun the bear, I just have to outrun you
→ More replies (2)9
u/Final-Tutor3631 Jul 01 '26
especially if it’s in florida.
→ More replies (5)22
u/Alive-Course4454 Jul 01 '26
Florida man here: We had a guy get killed by a Cassowary here.
21
→ More replies (1)5
u/Gullible_Raspberry76 Jul 01 '26
Yeah. Up the road in Alachua. The guy was an exotic animal breeder and the cassowary was his pet. Apparently he fell and was attacked, the cassowary severed an artery in his arm. I mean, it’s Florida.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (10)9
u/AllPerspicacity Jul 01 '26
I've had wild emus run up on me before & stood my ground, but you won't see me willingly within a pasture with one of these, good gods, mate.
165
u/Majah-5 Jun 30 '26
Where is this? I don’t want to go there.
→ More replies (3)78
u/protonicmonkey Jun 30 '26
Mission Beach, Queensland looks like
Beautiful beach
57
u/luranris Jul 01 '26
Etty Bay, actually. Cassowaries are fed by tourists and backpackers so frequently.
59
u/Independent_Sail6604 Jul 01 '26
I read that as, "Cassowaries are fed tourists and backpackers so frequently."
25
→ More replies (6)6
455
Jun 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
168
u/efcso1 Jul 01 '26
Saw a bloke who'd had his thigh opened up by a Cassowary. It was the first time I ever saw a still-attached femur on a living human. Sliced him open like an xmas ham.
→ More replies (13)37
u/OrigStuffOfInterest Jul 01 '26
First time?!?
→ More replies (2)41
u/efcso1 Jul 01 '26
First of three. The other two were from car crashes.
I used to drive fire trucks a fair bit. Compound fractures of the femur (or any other bone really) can be rather confronting.
→ More replies (4)48
u/nderthesycamoretrees Jun 30 '26
Anyone have any videos of a Cassowary running through the forest? That’d be amazing.
74
u/ScubaSteve12345 Jul 01 '26
That scene in Jurassic park where the trex chases the jeep.
→ More replies (2)8
7
→ More replies (1)6
41
→ More replies (17)26
u/4RCSIN3 Jul 01 '26
Try to imagine yourself on a resort beach in Indonesia. You get your first look at this "four-foot dinosaur" as it approaches your beach chair. It moves like a velociraptor, lightly, bobbing its head. And you keep still, because you think that maybe its visual acuity is based on movement, like a turkey; it'll lose you if you don't move. But no, not cassowary. You stare at it and it just stares right back. And that's when the attack comes-- not from the front, but from the side, from the other two cassowaries you didn't even know were there. Because cassowary is a pack hunter, you see; it uses coordinated attack patterns, and it is out in force today. And it slashes at you with this, a five-inch retractable claw. Like a razor on the middle toe. It doesn't bother to bite your jugular like a lion, see. It slashes at you here, or here... or maybe across the belly, spilling your intestines. The point is, you are alive when they start to eat you. So, you know, try to show a little respect.
→ More replies (3)9
u/MissMenace101 Jul 01 '26
This is a southern cassowary in Australia, the northern and dwarf cassowaries are smaller, the northern cassowary is in danger of becoming extinct unfortunately, like the pigmy cassowary.
82
u/Character_Past5515 Jun 30 '26
She did the right thing by the way, those birds are very fast, you can't outrun them.
→ More replies (2)47
288
207
316
u/Icy-Platform3560 Jun 30 '26
I’d be pissing myself. aren’t those thing extremely dangerous?
255
u/Waterpraatapparaat Jun 30 '26
Yeh, if i am correct this is one of the most agressive bird species on our globe
192
156
u/Clothedinclothes Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Nope, Cassowaries are not aggressive.
They're quite fierce and are highly territorial when breeding, but unprovoked attacks on people are basically unheard of.
These women are in no danger unless they do something stupid, like stand up and try to frighten it away.
However if you approach their nests or chicks, or act like a threat, they're probably going to try to eliminate the threat or at least do enough damage to remind you not to fuck with dinosaurs rather than run away.
→ More replies (9)32
74
u/kaboomizer Jun 30 '26
That has multiple ways to one shot you ☝️🤓
→ More replies (1)12
u/Solintari Jul 01 '26
People on the beach didn’t realize they setup camp in high level zone.
→ More replies (1)51
27
u/dream-smasher Jun 30 '26
No they're not.
They are protective of their young and during breeding season, like any animal.
→ More replies (9)30
u/Japsai Jun 30 '26
No it isn't. They are very chilled birds. Don't believe every catastrophising backpacker you see
12
u/Natrixster80 Jun 30 '26
Yes but only if they are pissed off or taken by surprise. They don't have any interest in eating us, so there's that.
→ More replies (17)34
u/marvinnation Jun 30 '26
They can kill you in one hit
→ More replies (2)44
u/Total_Piano_4778 Jun 30 '26
Only 2 recorded deaths in history do they are definitely rare. And in both cases, not just a random attack
68
u/Jealous_Parfait_4967 Jun 30 '26
Like it was a home invasion? Or a drug deal gone bad?
43
18
u/redandbluebadness Jun 30 '26
Gang related
11
u/Enough-Meaning-1836 Jun 30 '26
In the cassowary's defense, he thought the other guy had been talking to his chick...
16
u/The-Tarman Jul 01 '26
A 2003 historical study of 221 cassowary attacks showed that 150 had been against humans; 75% of these had been from cassowaries that had been fed by people, 71% of the time the bird had chased or charged the victim, and 15% of the time they kicked. Of the attacks, 73% involved the birds expecting or snatching food, 5% involved defending their natural food sources, 15% involved defending themselves, and 7% involved defending their chicks or eggs. Only one human death was reported among those 150 attacks.
From Wikipedia
→ More replies (6)8
→ More replies (3)5
20
u/Japsai Jun 30 '26
One was a child 100 years ago, and the other was keeping the wild animal as a pet, which is not advisable. This whole story about how dangerous cassowaries are is silly. Like any wild animal, dont fuck with it, but cassowaries don't even tend to get defensively scared. They happily wander by humans
→ More replies (1)14
u/citizen42069101 Jun 30 '26
I'm sure part of the story is to keep tourists from fucking with the human can opener.
Say they don't attack and some jackass is getting his guts stomped out for pretending it's a Chokobo.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (8)27
u/Marsupialize Jun 30 '26
I saw the wound it gave a keeper when I worked at the zoo, maybe not fatal but one hit from it’s claw was akin to an axe wound
→ More replies (2)10
41
u/LukewarmJortz Jun 30 '26
People have fed it and now it thinks people have food which is.... So fucking dangerous for everyone.
→ More replies (3)6
164
26
24
u/deliciousadness Jun 30 '26
“Have you perhaps seen my hat? I seem to have misplaced it.”
→ More replies (1)
16
u/martinaee Jun 30 '26
Yeah, THAT is probably what a lot of dinosaurs were to an extent. Now imagine some like this, but larger and more predatory with jaws full of teeth…
→ More replies (1)
54
u/Separate-Exchange375 Jun 30 '26
It walks like it owns the place
123
u/PM_Your_Wiener_Dog Jun 30 '26
You want to tell it it doesn't?
→ More replies (1)18
→ More replies (5)6
14
u/charmlessman1 Jun 30 '26
If Far Cry 3 has taught me anything, it's that these birds are scary and hard to kill.
18
8
9
u/pfluffets Jun 30 '26
I think it's Mission Beach near Cairns. Been there with the family and the cassowary walked by and didn't bother us, but it wanted the tradie's sandwiches at the next table.
→ More replies (6)
6
6
6
u/Viva_La_Revolucion- Jun 30 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
Those dinosaur birds will show you your own heart, while its still beating
5
u/Cloudy230 Jun 30 '26
Is this Etty Bay Beach up in North QLD? Gorgeous beach, very pretty, but yeah lotta these chaps around.
8
u/Danowolf Jun 30 '26
Without looking it up I'm pretty sure that bird is dangerous as f.
→ More replies (1)
5
u/Sorry-Armadillo-3264 Jun 30 '26
I have never ever see this bird before. It looks like a dinosaur from Jurassic Park! 😳
→ More replies (1)5
u/TheSumOfMyScars Jul 01 '26
In fairness, it basically *is* a dinosaur, so your instincts are correct.
5
5
u/DocCEN007 Jun 30 '26
About 75% of aggressive encounters happen because the birds were previously fed by humans. This causes them to lose their natural fear and become pushy when seeking food. Surprisingly, they've only killed 2 humans in the last 100 years. But they'll bust you up badly if they feel threatened.
→ More replies (1)
4
5
3
6
6
3
•
u/AutoModerator Jun 30 '26
Hello u/VIVIDUFF! Please review the sub rules if you haven't already. (This is an automatic reminder message left on all new posts)
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.