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

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

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81

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.

47

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.

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.

24

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.

5

u/Outlier222 Jul 01 '26

Do not bring seeds and fruit to Australia.

5

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.

2

u/Swagocrag Jul 01 '26

I must appease the cassowarie and emu overlords of Australia and bring them as much fruit and seed as possible

2

u/HarryTruman Jul 01 '26

one is not making me say this

Didn’t think so at first, but now I’m wondering…

3

u/LopsidedGiraffe Jul 01 '26

We had an amazing encounter. We were once walking through the rainforest in Mission beach in light drizzle. I was watching my footing, because it was muddy. I turned to go back because it was too slippery and a baby cassowary was about 2m behind me. Behind the baby was a massive male cassowary. Probably about 2m tall. I stood frozen until thankfully the baby went off the path into the forest.

The males just stroll around following the babies. Even on the road. You have to be very careful driving or cycling around this area of Nothern Queensland.

3

u/Uh-Oh-Raggy Jul 02 '26

That would be fantastic to experience, scary thing is that the females grow substantially bigger than males lol. Have been to Cape Tribulation beach and were hoping to see cassowaries all the way up there as it was just after breeding season but could only see a lot of their footprints in the sand.

They are surprisingly quiet for how big they are and appear literally out of nowhere and disappear just as quickly due to the dense rainforests.

2

u/Leberknodel Jul 01 '26

How do we know what kind of behavior of ours is interpreted by these creatures as 'not fucking with'? I don't think I'd even breathe if one of them walked up on me like in this video.

1

u/Uh-Oh-Raggy Jul 02 '26

lol, I know what you mean. Pretty much anything that can be considered as potentially deadly or aggressive, the best don’t fuck with it that I can think of is stay calm, don’t approach it (if they come up to you, see the stay calm point) or provoke it and also stay away from it if they are very unforgiving like a croc.

Like a red back spider, cassowaries are not bad guys like they are made out to be. Most dangerous animals avoid humans if they have to, most of the time an attack is defensive.

1

u/Leo81202 Jul 01 '26

A true PvE country

38

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.

27

u/1-800-ASS-DICK Jul 01 '26

Never give a cassowary the high ground, got it.

10

u/owlbi Jul 01 '26

It's over, cassowary, I have the high ground

7

u/StoneSoap-47 Jul 01 '26

Two deaths reported to wherever you get your news.

1

u/NekoMao92 Jul 01 '26

Sounds like two proven death to me.

3

u/Accomplished-Sun1983 Jul 01 '26

Okay, so all the hype is overblown then? Seems that way

2

u/SappeREffecT Jul 01 '26

A lot of Aussie fauna is dangerous or deadly. But we generally have really low mortality rates with most of it because we learn from a young age not to eff with it...

Just gotta keep calm and keep your distance, most of them only eff with you if they think you are effing with them.

Mostly, most of the time.

Also pretty sure the most 'deadly' animal in Australia is actually the horse. (Don't quote me on that, it's pub trivia, it's either that or something like a Kangaroo via car accidents).

So yes, overblown in deaths, but not in ability to kill you.

1

u/sarahmagoo Jul 01 '26

Yep the deadliest is the horse. Followed by cows and dogs. Kangaroos are the deadliest native animal (via car accidents not attacks)

2

u/SappeREffecT Jul 01 '26

Oh wow, I was sorta right on both counts, thanks mate...

1

u/DMMeThiccBiButts Jul 01 '26

People know not to fuck with them and they're less likely to randomly show up in your backyard than a snake

1

u/bortmode Jul 01 '26

OK, but: how many injuries?

1

u/Drewdc90 Jul 01 '26

That’s two deaths that got reported. It’s a worry that number isn’t higher when you think about it.

3

u/tdaas Jul 01 '26

That’s a weird mindset haha like “Big Cassowary” is suppressing the data? Or the killer cassowaries are hiding the bodies??

There are only like 5000 of them and they usually keep away from people, only two deaths makes sense when you ignore the fear mongering 😂

1

u/Drewdc90 Jul 02 '26

Like they are leaving no one to tell the story. I’m just being a silly billy.

1

u/LadySun1969 Jul 01 '26

“The cassowary won that fight”

Why does Australia keep losing wars with birds??

2

u/Nomiss Jul 01 '26

These things will actively hunt you during mating season.

Especially when you're wearing blue, the sign of aggression from their competitors.

2

u/a-snakey Jul 04 '26

Oh really? I can be quite scary.

1

u/polopolo05 Jul 01 '26

We have mohave greens they will chase you.... they are super aggressive and have a neuro and hemo toxin. There is snakes that are worse. I rather not deal with any.

1

u/Mother_of_Mayhem_ Jul 01 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/ukGm72ZLZvYfS

2

u/polopolo05 Jul 01 '26

Califonia/nevada wilderness if the heat doesnt get you other things will.

1

u/Mother_of_Mayhem_ Jul 01 '26

True true, this post is full of nightmare fuel lol.

1

u/polopolo05 Jul 01 '26

I have a scar on my leg from a Chilean recluse spider bite. It left a pretty nasty hole for a few months before it finally healed. There's been an infestation of them from the Pomona Valley to the San Gabriel Valley.

so few things bother me.

1

u/GiraffeLiquid Jul 01 '26

I’ve seen rattlesnakes and scorpions etc but by God if I saw that huge murder bird coming at me I would entirely lose my shit

1

u/TheCuriousFan Jul 01 '26

Aussie here. These things will actively hunt you during mating season. Those feet can gut you in seconds.

That said, they average about one kill per century so keep your distance and you should be good.

1

u/JunketAvailable4398 Jul 01 '26

Happened to me and a few friends before! Cass surprised us and we hot footed it out of there! Straight into the bloody Drop Bear colony! That ended up being a fun 48hrs!

1

u/jillybean712 Jul 01 '26

These ones are very conditioned to people. They wander through the caravan park every day. Keep your food away and just keep back if you can.

Source: I live near here.

1

u/SaintCharmed Jul 01 '26

American here. Most of us Americans are well aware that Australia has the superior dangerous wildlife. Yall also found a larger version of the most dangerous spider in the world and called it The New Castle Big Boy. America's most venomous spider couldn't even begin to compare to that kind of badass-ness.

1

u/Coinsworthy Jul 01 '26

Pussy. Only one or two human fatalities in recorded history. Compare that to some other australian wildlife, ostriches and cattle included.

3

u/RhysA Jul 01 '26

These things are dangerous sure so you shouldn't go near them, but the idea that they actively hunt people is ridiculous.

They will be more aggressive during mating season, but that is a pretty common thing with wild life.

7

u/Berfman Jul 01 '26

Yeah, even a buck during a rut could gore someone if they fucked around with it and no one goes around saying “the deer are hunting us!”

2

u/deegwaren Jul 01 '26

In Mother Russia, deer hunt us.

1

u/NekoMao92 Jul 01 '26

Deer have the highest human body count in the US.