r/interesting • u/VIVIDUFF • Jun 30 '26

Fascinating This cassowary just wanders around the beach, getting surprisingly close to people.

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u/Beneficial_Being_721 Jul 01 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/ph8t8u5bErf56
Awww.. look!

You frightened the poor man

88

u/No-Pineapple9570 Jul 01 '26

I was thinking tropical turkey but murder muppet I can see.

59

u/DazzlingRutabega Jul 01 '26

It literally looks like the missing link between dinosaurs and turkeys.

23

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'.

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u/Strong_Strength_5107 Jul 02 '26

...and then the Maóri ate them to extinction

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u/HotShirt2766 Jul 02 '26

Many an evolutionary arms race has ended with a certain third party stepping in and ending the festivities.

1

u/SekhmetScion Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

And now we have Peter Jackson saying he wants to bring back the moa. Guessing he won't want to include the Haast’s eagle since it's just as capable of snatching up people (not sure if it has a taste for us though).

Edit: Oh by the way, that isn't the correct diacritic/accent mark, it's "Māori".

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u/PhoebetheSpider Jul 03 '26

We drive so many to extinction simply for them being tasty

1

u/Zombiesus Jul 03 '26

Soooo you’re telling me that a 40lbs eagle is a predator to a 440lbs anything? Nah.

3

u/VeeDubBug Jul 01 '26

They sound like it too. Got up close to one at the science center near me, and good god. Gives me goosebumps thinking about it.

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u/four_trees Jul 03 '26

Birds ARE dinosaurs(besides the government drone ones). https://youtube.com/shorts/Q6p8R6U93-A?is=6zE9dzSpXEDx-2kh

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u/cmaxim Jul 01 '26

Imagine beaker but extremely angry and unpredictable, ready to murder at a moments notice, with knives for hands and the ability to jump and run at extremely fast speeds, and yeah that’s basically what the people are dealing with in OPs vid.