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World’s deadliest bird was raised by people 18,000 years ago
- vips7L 5y agoReal life dinosaurs. Listen to this with some good headphones if you don’t believe me: https://youtube.com/watch?v=iy-9Z2KrjsY https://youtube.com/watch?v=iy-9Z2KrjsY
- adolph 5y agoThank you, that was an ear-opening video--I had no idea. I do remember this Awl article from a while back: Some men shoot tigers. Some men love bears. Walter Rothschild, 2nd Baron Rothschild, Major in the Yeomanry, Conservative MP for Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, heir to one of the greatest banking fortunes in history, and collector of the largest zoological collection ever amassed in private hands, had a specific and incurable addiction to cassowaries. He bred them. He stuffed them. He gathered living representatives of every known species and sub-species at his parents’ manor house in Hertfordshire. Bewitched by their beautiful and highly variable neck wattles, he identified new species where there were none. He wrote a book, A Monograph of the Genus Casuarius, about them and made excuses for them, and he could never get enough. https://www.theawl.com/2016/04/a-natural-history-of-walter-rothschild/ https://www.theawl.com/2016/04/a-natural-history-of-walter-r...
- rsj_hn 5y agoIMO the Shoebill stork is the most dinosaury bird https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55G4XwtpNak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55G4XwtpNak
- peanut_worm 5y agoRatites (flightless birds) and Tinamous (Chicken-like bird from Americas) were the first to split off from the other birds so I suppose you could argue they'd be the most dinosaur-y evolutionarily. All birds are technically Dinosaurs as far as taxonomy is concerned.
- Someone 5y agoOther, IMO more convincing, version of those sounds that sound like a gun fight: https://youtube.com/watch?v=QFgYT3HfgP8 https://youtube.com/watch?v=QFgYT3HfgP8
- rsj_hn 5y agoI remember seeing this! Yes, it's amazing. I saw these in a Florida wildlife reserve but didn't hear the machine gun mating call.
- tjbiddle 5y agoThat sound legit gives my body shivers.
- Sophistifunk 5y agoForget the crocs, taipans, funnel-webs, box jellies, drop bears, etc.... It's the Cassowaries you need to remember not to fuck with. Those fuckers are huge and mean.
- itronitron 5y agoI can see how having one imprint on you, as its mother, at birth would provide some advantage.
- dwd 5y agoNote, they were raised to near adulthood...guessing after that they were not trustworthy enough to not turn on you. The hairy-nosed wombat is another Australian animal that is cute and cuddly as a baby, but turn aggressive on reaching adulthood.
- senectus1 5y agoyeah... those big feet are purpose evolved for GUTTING anyone that messes with their chicks.
- mykmallett 5y agoAbsolutely do not forget the crocs, they're the ones who can and do kill people who they cross paths with. Which is becoming more and regular as they expand their territory.
- mackatsol 5y agohttp://archive.today/UxwYW http://archive.today/UxwYW
- cheesecake_luvr 5y agoI came across one in a Mission Beach forest far north Queensland in the early 2000's. I ducked behind the nearest tree. When it came to check me out, I just moved around the tree and kept doing that as it persisted to check me out. It didn't appear pissed off. It was just curious I think. After doing this for about 5 minutes it walked off. I can confirm that it is a big bugger and had big fat legs.
- osrec 5y agoThe leading image in that article is somewhat terrifying... My eyes did not enjoy seeing that first thing in the morning!
- GlennS 5y agoOne of the keepers at the Sydney Wildlife Zoo told me their cassowary seemed to get lonely when there were no people to watch (I visited in-between lockdowns). Which, uh, obviously doesn't fit their reputation. If you visit on a day that isn't too busy around the time of the keeper talk, they'll let you feed the cassowary for a small donation. You have to do it from outside of the pen though.
- EdwardDiego 5y agoWhen I see cassowaries in action, my sadness that the various moa (and pouakai/Haast's Eagle/Harpagornis moorei) are extinct, mixes with some relief.