Perilous
Times
Australians hit by Cyclone Yasi under attack from deadly
giant birds
Australians trying to rebuild in the wake of Cyclone Yasi have
been warned to stay away from cassowaries – huge flightless birds
with claws that can disembowel a human – on the hunt for food
after their habitat was destroyed by the storm.
Weighing more than 10st, cassowaries resemble an emu, and in 2007
were named the most dangerous birds in the world by the Guinness
Book of Records.
By Bonnie Malkin, Sydney 12:32PM GMT 11 Feb 2011
The Telegraph UK
Residents of communities around Mission Beach, on the north
Queensland coast, which was almost flattened by the category five
cyclone earlier this month, have been advised to beware of the 6ft
tall birds, which are known to attack if they feel threatened.
Famed for their long talons – their dagger-like middle claws
measure 12cm long – and powerful legs, the birds, which are unique
to the rainforests of northern Australia, are said to be able to
disembowel humans, dogs and horses with just one kick.
Weighing more than 10st, cassowaries resemble an emu, and in 2007
were named the most dangerous birds in the world by the Guinness
Book of Records.
However, thanks to land clearing and development along the coast,
the fearsome birds are seriously endangered, with just 1,000 left
in the wild.
Queensland authorities and green groups have warned that over the
coming weeks the birds will be forced out of the rainforest after
violent winds from Cyclone Yasi stripped trees of their main food
source, fruit.
The government, which is arranging emergency aerial food drops for
the birds in an attempt to keep them away from residential areas,
has warned locals to be on the lookout for hungry cassowaries.
"It's vital that members of the public don't feed cassowaries –
for their own safety and in the interests of the birds' survival
long term, Kate Jones, the Queensland sustainability minister,
said.
"Cassowaries that come to expect food from humans can become
aggressive and dangerous."
The warning comes after several cassowaries were spotted close to
towns following Cyclone Larry, which hit the same stretch of coast
in 2006. After the storm, one third of the population of
cassowaries died, and conservationists fear that without
intervention the same could happen.
Bob Irwin, a conservationist and the father of late Crocodile
Hunter Steve Irwin, said it could take 18 months for the
rainforest to grow back and that in that time scores of
cassowaries could starve to death.
"As well as losing their food they are losing their homes so they
will be very disoriented.
"Like any other animal, if you interfere with them there could be
a risk, but the main threat is to the birds themselves."
While the birds, which resemble emus, are known to be highly
aggressive if approached, there is only one documented human death
caused by a cassowary.
In 1926 Philip McClean, 16, was killed after he and his brother
attempted to beat a cassowary to death. The bird fought back,
charging at McClean and knocking him down and slashing his neck
with a claw.