Clipmarks | Cassowary Clips

World’s most dangerous bird

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 05:14:35 GMT

clipped by: amgumen

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the Cassowaries are the world’s most dangerous birds, capable of dealing fatal blows. They are very unpredictable, aggressive creatures, especially if wounded or cornered. The Cassowary lives in the rain forests of Australia and New Guinea and are actually pretty shy animals if undisturbed, but if you get to close and it thinks you’re a threat you could receive a bone-breaking kick or get sliced by its dagger-like sharp claws. During WWII, soldiers stationed in New Guinea were warned to stay away from these birds, but some of them still became victims.

The Cassowary is also one of the most difficult animals to keep in the Zoo because of the frequent injuries suffered by Zoo keepers that look after them.

Tags: animals

Cassowary - most dangerous bird in the world

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:22:56 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: We're sure to take the sign seriously: Don't feed the birds!

Clip Source: www.sandiegozoo.org

Birds: Cassowary

Range: northern Australia, New Guinea, and surrounding islands
Habitat: tropical forests, wetlands

Watch out!

The cassowary is rightfully considered the most dangerous bird in the world! Its three-toed feet have daggerlike claws from the inner toe that are up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) long! It can slice open any predator or potential threat with a single swift kick and can run 31 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour) through the dense forest underbrush. A cassowary can also jump nearly 7 feet (2 meters) straight up into the air and swim like a champ, so the bird is quite good at fending off threats or escaping danger! That long claw also comes in handy when digging for fallen fruit in the leaf litter.

Important rain forest gardeners

Cassowaries are frugivores that feed on the fruits of several hundred rain forest plants. Because their digestive tracts are relatively short, their droppings contain fruit seeds that are only partially digested.

Tags: cassowary, cassowarie, emu, ostrich, avian, australia, new guiinea, san diego zoo

Cassowaries still feeling cyclone pain

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 05:14:32 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: 2 years ago, all of the dependent chicks were blown away, presumed dead, They are suffering tuberculosis, and are being hit by cars, dog attacks, after a lack of food in the rainforests has sent them onto the roads, and weakened their immune systems. Moore also says .that around 90% of the flying fox populations have also disappeared

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Dani Cooper

An endangered group of cassowaries that survived a severe tropical cyclone almost two years ago may now have to fight disease brought on by the storm, an Australian biologist says.

Les Moore, a researcher at James Cook University, says the immediate impact of Cyclone Larry, which crossed the North Queensland coast in March 2006, was a large jump in cassowary deaths at Mission Beach.

But two years later he fears diseases such as avian tuberculosis may be spreading through the cassowary community near the coastal township, about 140 kilometres south of Cairns.

And in a paper yet to be published, Moore says natural disasters like Cyclone Larry double the chances of the isolated Mission Beach population dying out

Cassowaries are an endangered species of flightless bird that are found in North Queensland and Papua New Guinea

Moore says at least 18% of all adult and sub-adult cassowaries died in the 12 months after Cyclone Larry

This compares with an average 3.7% a year across 20 years

Face to Face with a Blue Dinosaur.

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 09:10:57 GMT

clipped by: fenna

Clip Source: www.flickr.com

Face to Face with a Blue Dinosaur:)

"Cassowary "

Cassowaries (genus Casuarius) are very large flightless birds native to the tropical forests of New Guinea and northeastern Australia

Tags: cassowary, casuaris, birds, flickr, photography, images