1 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:07,040 Speaker 1: Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm flightless Josh. 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: There's flightless Chuck. Flightless. Jerry's with us and we're speaking 3 00:00:11,119 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: about the cassowary, a type of bird that is you 4 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: guessed it, flight less. There's no less flight in a 5 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:27,560 Speaker 1: bird than the cassowary. I am a right, flightless and dangerous, 6 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: the most dangerous bird in the world. So where does 7 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:36,560 Speaker 1: it live? Of course Australia, that's right, uh in this sucker. 8 00:00:36,640 --> 00:00:38,440 Speaker 1: If you want to look up a picture, if you're 9 00:00:38,440 --> 00:00:41,000 Speaker 1: not driving or something, you should check it out. They 10 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:44,440 Speaker 1: are sort of known as one of the closest um 11 00:00:44,479 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: relatives to dinosaurs bird wise that we have, specifically the velociraptor. Yeah. 12 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 1: I love Jurassic Park, Chuck, how do you too? So um, 13 00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: you know what's funny is I hadn't actually looked up 14 00:01:01,920 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 1: a picture of the cassowary until you said you should 15 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:05,839 Speaker 1: look it up. I was like, oh, yeah, I've still 16 00:01:05,959 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 1: never seen one of these. Now I see it, I'm like, okay, 17 00:01:08,040 --> 00:01:11,520 Speaker 1: I've seen this, but they're amazing videos. They look like 18 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: a cross not across, but you're you can tell they're 19 00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:19,920 Speaker 1: definitely akin to EMUs ostriches um and they're huge. They're 20 00:01:19,959 --> 00:01:23,320 Speaker 1: really big. There there's there's three types and the one 21 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: of the types, I think this the southern is the 22 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: second biggest bird in the world, next to the ostrich 23 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 1: or heaviest. I should say at least yes, they are 24 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:37,039 Speaker 1: super big and super dangerous. They they're listed as a 25 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:40,720 Speaker 1: Class two animal in Florida, along with alligators and cats. 26 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 1: If you're asking why would they be in Florida if 27 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:47,280 Speaker 1: they're native to Southeast Asian Australia, is because people can 28 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: if they jump through hoops, keep them as pets. But 29 00:01:51,200 --> 00:01:52,920 Speaker 1: they can kill you, which is what happened to a 30 00:01:53,000 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 1: seventy five year old man in Florida, in Florida whose 31 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,880 Speaker 1: pet Cassowary killed him dead. And all this chuck, by 32 00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:01,720 Speaker 1: the way, is a demoustration of how why those in 33 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:07,280 Speaker 1: the no call Florida Western Australia. Is that true? No? 34 00:02:07,560 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: But it it really it does line up. There's a 35 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:13,040 Speaker 1: lot of stuff that wants to kill you in Florida too, 36 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: all right, and a lot of people who like to 37 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:18,680 Speaker 1: keep that stuff that wants to kill you as pets 38 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:23,720 Speaker 1: both places. And that's a bad combo. And I believe 39 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: crocodile Dundee were retired to Naples, Florida in the last 40 00:02:28,840 --> 00:02:32,920 Speaker 1: one coming together. I'm kidding, Okay, it would have been 41 00:02:32,960 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: pretty awesome though. Uh. Back to the castoary though. It 42 00:02:36,320 --> 00:02:39,959 Speaker 1: has these sort of bristly feathers that look like hair. 43 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:42,280 Speaker 1: If you see a video of them, if you're kind 44 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: of from a distance, it looks like kind of a 45 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: hairy thing. They have this blue face, a couple of 46 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,919 Speaker 1: red wattles on the neck, and then this big cask 47 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: helmet on top of its head made of keratin that's 48 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: really like a literal helmet. Yeah, that's probably what makes 49 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:00,880 Speaker 1: them seem the most dinosaurs are like, although they got 50 00:03:00,919 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: a lot of dinosaurs features that that helmet, like the 51 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: hard helmet. It's made of the same stuff like you said, Karen, 52 00:03:07,680 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: and that's what their beaks made of two and same 53 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 1: with their feathers too, but it's really tough structural skin. Um. 54 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,520 Speaker 1: I think there's dinosaurs that had that same exact thing. Yeah, 55 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:25,280 Speaker 1: it looks like a a fin of a tri serratops. Yes, 56 00:03:25,480 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: just one of them, right, yeah, yeah, yeah, so it's 57 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: just the sarahtops right Well no, no, no, not the horns. 58 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:38,800 Speaker 1: I'm talking about the on the back. Are you okay? 59 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,840 Speaker 1: I've been better? All right? Uh. The thing that's so 60 00:03:43,920 --> 00:03:47,080 Speaker 1: deadly about the castowary though, is not you're not gonna 61 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:51,200 Speaker 1: get headbutted by that cask. Is you're gonna get clawed 62 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:53,520 Speaker 1: by a three to five inch This is where the 63 00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,640 Speaker 1: velociraptor thing comes in, this three to five inch claw 64 00:03:57,160 --> 00:03:59,920 Speaker 1: that is super sharp. And all you have to do 65 00:04:00,080 --> 00:04:02,360 Speaker 1: is look at a video of the guy on YouTube 66 00:04:02,400 --> 00:04:06,840 Speaker 1: with a basically a big shield in this cassowary coming 67 00:04:06,880 --> 00:04:09,720 Speaker 1: at him and jumping and kicking both of his legs 68 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:12,480 Speaker 1: with these clawset this guy and literally knocking us grown 69 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: man backwards. To know how scary this thing can be. Yeah, 70 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:19,400 Speaker 1: it's like, um, I mean they're like, it's there. Those 71 00:04:19,400 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: claws are super sharp, but their legs are also super 72 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: powerful too, so they pack a really big punch that's 73 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,880 Speaker 1: also a really sharp punch that's been known to basically 74 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: gut people like not only can it like make you 75 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 1: bleed pretty bad, it can reach your internal organs sometimes too. 76 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,640 Speaker 1: And the reason they're flightless is even though they're big, 77 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: their little wings only extend fully extent about a foot 78 00:04:43,400 --> 00:04:45,920 Speaker 1: from their potty, so they have no chance of flying 79 00:04:46,680 --> 00:04:48,680 Speaker 1: they don't. One of the other things too, by their feathers. 80 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:50,880 Speaker 1: You said, it looks like hair. It's really good to 81 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:54,279 Speaker 1: protect them because they live in the forests with a 82 00:04:54,320 --> 00:04:56,800 Speaker 1: lot of dense underbrush, a lot of thorns, a lot 83 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: of branches and stuff. And one of the the rees 84 00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:03,719 Speaker 1: behind why they think they have that horn on their head. 85 00:05:03,920 --> 00:05:07,000 Speaker 1: What's it call again? I want to say cask. The 86 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:08,719 Speaker 1: reason that one of the reasons they think they have 87 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:11,080 Speaker 1: the cask is um so that it can kind of 88 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:14,520 Speaker 1: run headlong through the forest without hurting its head. But 89 00:05:14,560 --> 00:05:19,520 Speaker 1: then also, um, those those thick, heavy feathers also protect 90 00:05:19,520 --> 00:05:22,960 Speaker 1: the body too from getting stabbed by thorns and things 91 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:26,920 Speaker 1: like that. That's right, so let's should we take a break. Yeah, 92 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:29,200 Speaker 1: let's all right. We'll talk more about the deadly cast 93 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:54,120 Speaker 1: a wary right after this. Okay, chuck um, So we're 94 00:05:54,120 --> 00:05:56,680 Speaker 1: talking about the deadly cast a wary, which I mean, 95 00:05:57,800 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 1: it is deadly, but I don't I don't think it's 96 00:06:00,960 --> 00:06:04,279 Speaker 1: any more deadly. It's much less deadly even um or, 97 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:07,920 Speaker 1: you're much less likely to die by a castawary than 98 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,360 Speaker 1: you are from saying like getting infection from a dog 99 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,479 Speaker 1: bite or something like that. Right. Statistically speaking, yeah, I 100 00:06:13,480 --> 00:06:17,480 Speaker 1: mean we we shouldn't disparage the castawary is deadly, like 101 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:19,839 Speaker 1: they can kill and they have those sharp claws, but 102 00:06:19,839 --> 00:06:24,039 Speaker 1: they're not aggressive generally. They're not after you. Generally, if 103 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,680 Speaker 1: you come upon them while they're while they have laid 104 00:06:27,680 --> 00:06:30,159 Speaker 1: their eggs or something, you may be in trouble, but 105 00:06:30,440 --> 00:06:33,560 Speaker 1: they generally want to stay away from people. Um. There 106 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:36,640 Speaker 1: is another video that's pretty a little frightening. If they 107 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:38,279 Speaker 1: would have put like scary music to it, it it would 108 00:06:38,279 --> 00:06:40,239 Speaker 1: have helped. But there was a woman on the beach 109 00:06:40,240 --> 00:06:43,080 Speaker 1: in Australia, I guess, and she filmed the whole thing. 110 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:46,800 Speaker 1: But this castawary was just walking toward her and she's 111 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:49,520 Speaker 1: walking backwards and it keeps coming and it's pecking at 112 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:53,560 Speaker 1: the phone. But after having seen that other video, I'm 113 00:06:53,600 --> 00:06:56,599 Speaker 1: just like on edge waiting for this thing to jump 114 00:06:56,720 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 1: up and slice her stomach open. It's intimidating and it's 115 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,840 Speaker 1: a very large bird. And when it's coming at you 116 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:07,240 Speaker 1: with those kind of crazy eyes and its heads duck 117 00:07:07,240 --> 00:07:09,160 Speaker 1: and back and forth and it's kind of pecking at you, 118 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: it seems like a velociraptor in that moment. Yeah, I 119 00:07:13,200 --> 00:07:16,440 Speaker 1: can imagine. Um. So, yeah, I think it's more just 120 00:07:16,480 --> 00:07:19,160 Speaker 1: like it's remarkable that a bird can kill you and 121 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: has before that, than it is like actually like a 122 00:07:22,480 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 1: super deadly bird. What's the deal with that wattle? They're 123 00:07:27,160 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: not sure, but one of the theories is that it's 124 00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:35,360 Speaker 1: basically like a current mood indicator, like current mood effervescent, 125 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 1: like a mood bring. It changes color brightness with their mood. Yeah, 126 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:43,080 Speaker 1: that's not too bad, um. Or to maybe say like 127 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: I'm I'm robust and uh maybe like sexually perhaps, sure, 128 00:07:49,600 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: like check on my wattle exactly. They're also known as 129 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 1: a keystone species because what they do is they eat fruit, 130 00:07:58,480 --> 00:08:01,360 Speaker 1: tons of fruit, and they walk around and cover a 131 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:05,680 Speaker 1: great area and poop that seed out. Uh. It goes 132 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:08,600 Speaker 1: right through their digestive tracks, and they deposit the seeds 133 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:11,520 Speaker 1: all over the place. So you get a much more 134 00:08:11,640 --> 00:08:17,040 Speaker 1: diverse uh fruit habitat in areas where they are popular. Yeah, 135 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:19,520 Speaker 1: because yeah, I mean they're they're not only spreading the 136 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:21,360 Speaker 1: seeds around when they poop it out. It's got all 137 00:08:21,360 --> 00:08:23,720 Speaker 1: sorts of nutrients to grow with, and it's just a 138 00:08:23,800 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 1: great great um uh commence all lists set up, I guess, 139 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: uh They also are pretty stealth. They have this apparently 140 00:08:36,520 --> 00:08:39,319 Speaker 1: their call it's so low it's just on the edge 141 00:08:39,320 --> 00:08:42,040 Speaker 1: of human hearing, so you may not even hear them 142 00:08:42,040 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: coming at you. Yeah, and apparently though, like you can 143 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:48,000 Speaker 1: feel it in your chest if you happen to be 144 00:08:48,080 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 1: near one when they call, like it rumbles in your chest. 145 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:57,360 Speaker 1: I love it. These things are great. Um. Did we 146 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:00,400 Speaker 1: ever say how big they get? Chuck? Uh? Yeah, he 147 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:04,880 Speaker 1: said six six six and or so. Yeah, that's just 148 00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: so enormous. But what I thought was really interesting is 149 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 1: um and at the very least the Southern castawary species. Uh, 150 00:09:12,280 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 1: the female is about a hundred and seventy pounds. The 151 00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:19,679 Speaker 1: males are a hundred and twenty five pounds, and even 152 00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:22,920 Speaker 1: more interesting, the males are the ones that actually raise 153 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,720 Speaker 1: the hatchlings. Did you know that? Well, I didn't until 154 00:09:26,800 --> 00:09:28,440 Speaker 1: I mean, I knew nothing about this thing until I 155 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:31,760 Speaker 1: looked into it. But yeah, the female basically lazy eggs 156 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:35,679 Speaker 1: and it's like, my work here is done. It's on you, yep, 157 00:09:37,000 --> 00:09:39,839 Speaker 1: raise the kids, and the males do. They raise these kids, 158 00:09:40,120 --> 00:09:43,439 Speaker 1: and the female goes off in mates with more males 159 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:47,280 Speaker 1: other males, And it makes total sense from a natural 160 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:52,520 Speaker 1: selection standpoint, um, because that just means that more castawary 161 00:09:52,600 --> 00:09:55,640 Speaker 1: chicks can be born, the more female cast wary can 162 00:09:55,679 --> 00:09:58,839 Speaker 1: go off and and mate with more male castawaries, as 163 00:09:58,840 --> 00:10:01,560 Speaker 1: long as the males are the ones raising the chicks. 164 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:04,560 Speaker 1: That's pretty great, great idea, and it's great because their 165 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:09,400 Speaker 1: numbers are dwindling. All three species are vulnerable or near threatened. 166 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:12,000 Speaker 1: Of course, humans have a lot to do with this 167 00:10:12,120 --> 00:10:16,200 Speaker 1: loss of habitat because we're growing into their territory or 168 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,959 Speaker 1: they're getting hit by cars stuff like that. Um, dogs 169 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:24,400 Speaker 1: apparently if it's a young dog or a small dog, 170 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:28,520 Speaker 1: the cassowary, Uh, like, there are dog attacks on record, 171 00:10:28,559 --> 00:10:30,719 Speaker 1: but if the dog gets bigger, they can be a 172 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:35,560 Speaker 1: threat to the cassowary. Yeah, especially young cassowaries. Yeah, it's 173 00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:38,680 Speaker 1: all size. It's like whoever shoop up is the one threatened. 174 00:10:39,240 --> 00:10:43,360 Speaker 1: It's the law of nature, that's right. So there are 175 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:47,280 Speaker 1: people working um to keep the cassowaries around, make sure 176 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:49,600 Speaker 1: they don't go extinct. And like you said, it's typically 177 00:10:49,720 --> 00:10:52,679 Speaker 1: human encroachments. So people are buying back some of their 178 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:56,199 Speaker 1: native habitats and just trying to set them off as 179 00:10:56,240 --> 00:11:00,120 Speaker 1: preserves and building ways around roadways, which is another big ing. 180 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:03,480 Speaker 1: We should do a short stuff on that sometime, basically 181 00:11:03,559 --> 00:11:08,839 Speaker 1: like nature highways that are overpasses in the woods, over 182 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:13,319 Speaker 1: roads that go through the woods, and this is pretty cool. Yeah, 183 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:15,920 Speaker 1: and maybe maybe we just did the short stuff on 184 00:11:15,920 --> 00:11:18,520 Speaker 1: it just now. I don't know if there's much more 185 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: to say about it, but I just think it's amazing looking. 186 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 1: I've seen pictures of them. They just look like grass 187 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:27,199 Speaker 1: covered overpasses, almost like what are overpasses are going to 188 00:11:27,320 --> 00:11:31,319 Speaker 1: look like in when there's no more people left to 189 00:11:31,880 --> 00:11:35,439 Speaker 1: look like the last of us are Station eleven. Sure 190 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:39,520 Speaker 1: you got anything else and did anything else? Well, since 191 00:11:39,559 --> 00:11:43,120 Speaker 1: we've got nothing else, everybody. This owe to Cassowaries is out. 192 00:11:46,679 --> 00:11:49,000 Speaker 1: Stuff you Should Know is a production of I Heart Radio. 193 00:11:49,520 --> 00:11:52,000 Speaker 1: For more podcasts my heart Radio, visit the i heart 194 00:11:52,080 --> 00:11:55,000 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 195 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:55,760 Speaker 1: favorite shows.