Is the Winged Predator, the Cassowary, a Threat to Humans?

[Un article initialement publié en mai 2024]

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Among the thousands of species of birds identified in the world, the Casoar of the Casuaridae family is undoubtedly the most dangerous of all, at least for the human being.

Given their imposing size, ostriches and emus can also be dangerous for humans if they are aggressive. Nevertheless, the palm of dangerousness does indeed come back to the Casoar.

Originally from the tropical forests of Indonesia, New Guinea and Australia, the Casoar is rather a shy animal that is difficult to observe in the wild. However, this does not prevent him from being able to do a lot of damage when he is aggressive.

The Casoar, a formidable bird with prehistoric appearance

Casoar attacks are rare, but they have already been deadly. A drama thus took place in a private collection of captivity birds in Florida in 2019. These birds can react violently when they are caused.

In terms of physical characteristics, it is not difficult to imagine that the CASOAR descends dinosaurs. In addition to its prehistoric appearance, this bird can weigh more than 70 kg and measure 1.80 m high. We therefore understand why their attacks can be so dangerous.

Like the ostriches and the emeus, the cookies cannot fly. Their extremely powerful legs can however propel them at high speed. They move both in water and on land. Not to mention that they can jump more than 2 meters in the air.

Casoars can attack with their long and sharp claws

Wild casoars have already been observed running at nearly 50 km/h in the tropical forest. These large birds are therefore almost as fast as leopards. They use their legs to give powerful kicks when they decide to attack or defend themselves.

Strong clutches in the shape of a dagger which measure more than 10 cm long can also decide and lacerate their victims, whether animal or human. These are omnivorous birds. They feed on fruits that have fallen to the ground, insects, snails and mushrooms.

Casoars can also be enjoyed with carcasses of dead animals. They were even observed fishing in the streams. They “sit” in the river and spread their feathers to form a kind of net in order to catch the fish.

It is the males that convent the eggs for 50 days

Another peculiarity of the cookies is that it is the males who convent the eggs of the nest for fifty days until hatching. There are an average of three eggs per nest. To give you an idea, an egg from Casoar weighs almost the same as ten hen eggs.

There are also three species of cookies in the casuaridae family:

• The helmet cookie: the largest species that lives in Indonesia, New Guinea and northeast Australia;
• The Bennett Casoar: the smallest species in New Guinea;
• The unicaronculated cookie: he lives in the north of New Guinea.

Source: Library of Congress