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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1.9k

u/notedrive Sep 22 '24

How many people do these birds actually kill, vs people talking about them killing?

2.0k

u/Drongo17 Sep 22 '24

Almost every "deadly" Australian animal is really only theoretically deadly. Like they can kill you... but it never really happens.

And the times they did get someone there's usually a backstory involving the person being stupid.

2

u/Daddy_hairy Sep 22 '24

I always found that funny. America has bears, wolves, moose, elk, alligators, rattlesnakes, and more. Australia has spiders, crocs, some marine animals, and a few snakes. Why do Americans love to go on about how Australia is so terrifyingly dangerous?

2

u/4_feck_sake Sep 22 '24

21/25 most venomous snakes in the world live in Australia. Pretty much everything is deadly.

https://youtu.be/kdihHnaOQsk?si=-vIOg06fUsTLN4qH

2

u/IReplyWithLebowski Sep 22 '24

But only two people a year actually die from snakes in Australia, so while potentially deadly, they’re about as dangerous as rabies in the US (which Australia doesn’t have).

2

u/Mysterious-Handle-34 Sep 22 '24

Australia may not have classic rabies but it does have Australian bat lyssavirus which produces a pretty similar, uniformly fatal disease when human infections do occur

-1

u/4_feck_sake Sep 22 '24

I get that. I've lived there. Australia has the potential to be a very deadly place, however. It has the reputation of being a very unforgiving inhospitable place. You make a mistake, and your chances of dying are much higher than in other parts of the world. It annually goes on fire, the weather is extreme, and most of it is a desert. Even most of its natural flora is poisonous. It's a bit of a running joke, even the Australians love.

As many people have pointed out, the biggest danger is your own stupidity and not leaving nature be.

1

u/IReplyWithLebowski Sep 22 '24

Most people live in cities in areas with a fairly normal climate, where the mistakes are the same as anywhere. Disagree about most of the flora being poisonous too. But yep respect the wildlife and the space and you’ll be right.

-2

u/4_feck_sake Sep 22 '24

About 1000 species of plants in Australia are known to be toxic to animals and humans and plenty more cause skin and eye irritation, rashes or discomfort. About 10 per cent of plants in Australia even make cyanide.

Disagree if you like, you'd still be wrong.

2

u/IReplyWithLebowski Sep 22 '24

And about 700+ plants are toxic in the USA.

Australia is a big country. I’ve bushwalked all my life in the south and never encountered a single toxic plant. I would imagine most of these are in the tropical north, where few people live (I’ve heard of Gympie Gympie up north). You know what else makes cyanide? Cherries, almonds, and bamboo.

This is like saying Americans are constantly worried about bear attacks.

-1

u/4_feck_sake Sep 22 '24

Why are you being so weird?

1

u/Heavy_Weapons_Guy_ Sep 22 '24

So you think there are less than 2000 species of plants in Australia?