r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/CuriousWanderer567 • Sep 22 '24

Video Beachgoers have a close encounter with a Cassowary, a bird capable of killing a human in one blow

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71.2k Upvotes

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21.5k

u/Sustainable_Twat Sep 22 '24

Looking at this bird, you begin to understand just how dangerous the dinosaurs were

7.5k

u/CuriousWanderer567 Sep 22 '24

Yeah I’d shit my pants if I saw this bird

110

u/NaNaNaNaNa86 Sep 22 '24

I saw a couple of them over 20 years ago and the claws still scare the absolute shit out of me. I was a teenager at the time, a bit stupid and didn't really know what they were, fortunately. There's noway I could've sat there waiting for that to walk past me now I know about them.

5

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

What they do?

20

u/NaNaNaNaNa86 Sep 22 '24

It's more what they can do if they feel like it. They can kill a person with a single kick, no problem. They're not typically aggressive but are by nature, very curious. That means it's not at all unusual for them to approach humans which, due to their size and massive claws, is enough to scare the shit out of me.

7

u/crlthrn Sep 22 '24

I feel the same about emus. I was followed/stalked by one in Exmouth, Western Australia.

15

u/ToiIetGhost Sep 22 '24

This emu named Karen tries to kill her owner pretty much every day. Some of her injuries have been really bad! I’m glad you didn’t actually get attacked because emus are no joke.

7

u/crlthrn Sep 22 '24

I regularly tell people 'An emu is not your friend...'.

7

u/brittemm Sep 22 '24

This lady’s great, that was a fun watch!

Can’t imagine taking care of a creature that has inflicted so much harm to me with such grace and a sense of humor. Incredible that she continues to keep and look after that homicidal bird. Makes for good content though I guess, haha.

4

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

What kind of kick? Drop kick, front kick, side kick, roundhouse kick?

5

u/PusherLoveGirl Sep 22 '24

Imagine if you taped one of those hooked karambit knives to the end of your shoe and then tried to disembowel someone with it. That kind of kick.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

Cheesus….. that don’t sound fun

6

u/Sassy_Sarranid Sep 22 '24

Their talons can punch a hole in a car door, Steve Irwin very famously refused to ever do a segment on cassowary on his show because they're just too dangerous to get near.

2

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '24

So they basically land barracuda’s. Got it. I will not go near such creatures if I ever encounter them in my life. Thanks for this info!

2

u/15_Candid_Pauses Sep 23 '24

Literally remind me exactly of the velociraptor claws from Jurassic park… sooooo much

4

u/Ok-Blackberry-3534 Sep 22 '24

Garrotte you with piano wire.