Big Bird

I've been wanting to see a cassowary since I first read about them. Imagine--they're a huge flightless bird, over 6 feet tall with a big red wattle hanging down like a turkey, a blue face, three gigantic claws on their feet. But what really got me is that they're the only bird known to have killed humans. They leap in the air and claw your gut open. And they don't just attack you when they are cornered, they're known to be belligerent and aggressive birds. One ranger said, "They have legs like a runaway chainsaw. I'd rather wrestle a crocodile than handle one of those brutes." They're known to leave claw marks in trees "so long and deep you couldn't match them with the heftiest axe." So when we were told a good place to see wild cassowaries was at a B&B near Cairns, we headed there for a night's stay. When we checked in, the owner, Sue, told us there was a family of cassowaries, mom, dad and 2 half grown chicks- who would come out of the rainforest and wander through her garden almost every day. She said she'd come and get us if they showed up or that we might see them as we walked around the area.

That night--nothing. But the next morning we had just finished dressing when Sue knocked on our door and called, "They're here." We rushed over to her house and went out onto the back balcony. And there were Dad and the two chicks, just 10 feet below us. We watched them for a long time, and then Sue and I went back to the other building to check the internet for email. The B&B building was about 50 feet from her house, and they were linked by a narrow brick path through the dense, jungly garden. As Sue and I headed back via this path, all of a sudden-- BAM--I saw this huge bird in front of me. I was totally freaked out and jumped behind Sue for protection- I mean for consultation. I thought this was Dad, who I knew was aggressive because of the chicks. Sue shooed the bird over--"Step aside, step aside, let us through"--and we slithered past. Now Sue was behind me again, and we carefully backed step by step toward her house. But for every step we took back, the cassowary took a step forward, and it stayed only about two feet from me. It didn't feel like it was threatening me, but it did feel like it was stalking me. I kept backing up slowly till I stumbled and fell backward into her house. I wasn't going to take my eye off that animal.

So I had my encounter with the wild cassowary--and it was closer and much more exciting than I could have anticipated.