When you think of killer animals whether on land or in the oceans what creatures do you think of? Probably animals and or mammals such as the great white shark, grizzly bears, Lions, maybe poisonous snakes. There are quite a few scary creatures in this world and even though humans are the dominant species we can still be hunted down and killed. When you think of killer creatures do you ever think of birds? How about a scary creature called the killer Cassowary? The Cassowary is a Ratite bird which means a flightless bird. The southern Cassowary which can be found in New Guinea and North East Australia is third only in size and weight to the Ostrich and the Emu. The Cassowary is an omnivorous bird but eats mostly fruit.

There are three types of cassowary bird being the southern Cassowary which is the most common and more well known. The dwarf and northern Cassowary birds are not as well known and somewhat smaller than the southern Cassowary bird. The Cassowary bird on average is around 5’7 in height and over 100 lbs. There are reports of cassowaries growing well over 6’ tall and around 130lbs in weight.

Like any creature if provoked or backed into a corner they will attack and Cassowary attacks are in fact real and very serious. It is reported that a teen passed away from injuries received from a Cassowary jumping and kicking him in the throat back in the 1930’s. Others have been kicked in the chest receiving bruises and serious cuts from the claws of the bird. The sheer size of the southern Cassowary should be enough of a warning to not provoke this creature.

The cassowary has three toes or claws that are very sharp with the middle claw resembling some hooked sport knives you can purchase. The middle claw grows to five inches in length so imagine this fierce bird jumping and kicking at you with a weapon that has a five inch blade hitting you in the torso or thigh cutting you open. It’s terrifying to think that a beautiful bird could do such a thing. Not only does this vicious bird have knives for claws it can run over 30 miles per hour jumping almost 5 feet in the air so don’t try and escape if you annoy a southern cassowary. To add to the stealth speed of this bird since the cassowary is a ratite bird they have learned to swim quite well.

If you find yourself in Australia and run into one of the varieties of Cassowary birds especially the southern cassowary make sure to steer clear of the bird and certainly don’t do anything to scare or provoke the creature. Stand back, take pictures and just enjoy the beauty of this massive bird, the killer cassowary.