Re: Cassowary - World's Most Dangerous B
Hi, I'm sorry if I am about to upset you, but you clearly have never seen a live or dead cassowary and are simply repeating false information published elsewhere.
The Cassowary foot, irrespective of which species, does have three toes, but the inside toe has the longest nail, up to 15cm of nail in a museum specimen I have seen, and the outside one with the smallest nail is shaped like a hook or claw. The middle toe has the longest bone length.
The only known case of a Cassowary killing a human was when a young boy was killed while running away and had an artery severed. It is not known which toe was responsible for this injury.
Since the Cassowary has a side-swipe action when defending or attacking, the long bladed inner toe is the one most likely to cause injury. This stiletto-like toe can puncture and cause internal injuries. Several dogs in New Guinea have been eviscerated in this way. As a keeper and handler of Cassowaries I can attest to the damage the foot can cause and have received several gashes myself. There are lots of recorded instances where people have been cut by the Cassowary’s foot and it is a very dangerous weapon.
Fortunately, the Cassowary will prefer to keep well away from humans and (the male) is most likely to attack people when protecting young or (both sexes) when brought suddenly into close contact and feeling threatened. Young Cassowaries up to about 15 months old are quite friendly birds and will follow humans around in captivity. After that age they can suddenly become very aggressive, including to the very person who has raised and fed them for the last year or so. In New Guinea villages Cassowary chicks are left to run around and search for food without being penned up. Once they reach about 15 months they are then securely kept in small enclosures until they are disposed of: Eaten or traded.
