Monday, April 26, 2010

Straight out of Jurassic Park

Very few people have been killed directly by bird attacks. One of these instances involved a 16 year old Australian boy, Phillip Mclean, who died from an attack by a cassowary in the 20s. The boy and his brother were chasing down the bird and hitting it repeatedly with clubs. Driven to defend itself, the cassowary kicked Phillip's brother who ran away, and then kicked Phillip who fell to the ground. Phillip's neck was sliced open after another kick, and the boy died shortly afterward from hemorrhaging.
150 cassowary attacks on humans have been recorded, and at least one other on a zookeeper has resulted in death of the person.
These flightless birds, coming from 3 extant species, live in northern Australia and parts of New Guinea. Usually they are shy and harmless creatures eating mostly berries. But when provoked, they have a variety of hardcore defenses that could do serious harm to their attackers. They weigh up to 130 pounds, can run 30 mph, are great swimmers, can jump 5 feet high, have a "helmet" to protect their heads and have 5 inch long claws on their 3 toes. Essentially, they are modern-day Velociraptors.

No comments:

Post a Comment