WEBVTT - How Do Cassowaries Work? 0:00:01.800 --> 0:00:04.320 Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 0:00:06.640 --> 0:00:12.200 Hey brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum here. The cassowary is a massive, 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:15.480 flightless bird that's been called the most dangerous bird in 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:19.079 the world, the reason being that it could seriously injure 0:00:19.280 --> 0:00:21.520 or kill a human or pet in an instant with 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:25.560 its deadly claws. And they're very quick. They are powerful 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:27.720 legs let them run at about thirty miles an hour 0:00:27.880 --> 0:00:33.559 more fifty kilometers an hour through dense forest underbrush. In Florida. 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:37.440 Cassowaries are listed as Class two animals, along with alligators 0:00:37.440 --> 0:00:40.640 and wildcats due to the risk they pose, which means 0:00:40.680 --> 0:00:43.839 anyone who wishes to own one must pass numerous tests 0:00:43.880 --> 0:00:48.560 and get a special permit from local authorities. Alike their 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:52.840 emu cousins, cassowaries are rattites, or birds that have flat 0:00:52.880 --> 0:00:57.440 breastbones and are unable to fly, and they boast bristly feathers, 0:00:57.600 --> 0:01:01.200 a vivid blue face, two red bottles hanging from their neck, 0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:06.039 and a prominent helmet or cast atop their head. Three 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:09.320 different species of cassuaries are native to tropical forests of 0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:14.280 Australia and Southeast Asia, although size varies across those three species, 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:17.800 the Southern, Northern, and dwarf. They can stand up to 0:01:17.840 --> 0:01:20.520 six and a half feet tall that's two meters, and 0:01:20.600 --> 0:01:22.840 weigh as much as a hundred and thirty pounds or 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:27.080 sixty kilos. If you happen to be familiar with swans, 0:01:27.480 --> 0:01:31.559 this is the equivalent of about six swans, presumably stacked 0:01:31.560 --> 0:01:36.560 in a cassowary shaped trench coat. They cannot fly, but 0:01:36.680 --> 0:01:39.840 they do have those muscular legs, and that brings us 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:44.080 to the hazardous point of these birds their inner claw. 0:01:45.959 --> 0:01:48.040 For the article this episode is based on, has to 0:01:48.120 --> 0:01:51.680 Fork spoke with Rick Schwartz, a global ambassador for California's 0:01:51.680 --> 0:01:55.480 San Diego Zoo, which currently houses several Southern cassuaries in 0:01:55.480 --> 0:01:59.760 its Safari park. He explained the claw on the inner 0:02:00.240 --> 0:02:03.360 of each foot is what is so impressive between the 0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:06.600 three species. That claw is very sharp and can range 0:02:06.600 --> 0:02:09.400 from three to five inches or seven to twelve centimeters long, 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:12.839 and the cassowary will use these sharp claws and their 0:02:12.880 --> 0:02:16.400 powerful kick to defend themselves. It's often stated that they 0:02:16.400 --> 0:02:19.200 can eviscerate a human in a single kit, though there 0:02:19.280 --> 0:02:24.120 is no record of this happening. They also have a 0:02:24.120 --> 0:02:27.720 lot of weight to throw around. A Swart said. Cassowaries 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:30.800 are the heaviest bird in Australia and the southern cassuary 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.680 is the second heaviest in the world. The world's heaviest 0:02:33.720 --> 0:02:37.160 bird is the ostrich. With that in mind, they also 0:02:37.200 --> 0:02:40.440 have very small wings. When stretched out, their wings extend 0:02:40.600 --> 0:02:43.919 less than a foot or point three meters from their body. 0:02:44.520 --> 0:02:48.160 A cassowary has dense, black feathers that are long and thin, 0:02:48.360 --> 0:02:51.840 compared with the wide and shapely feathers of a flighted bird. 0:02:52.520 --> 0:02:55.679 A Schwartz said, from a distance, some people even say 0:02:55.720 --> 0:02:58.720 the feathers of the cassowary look more like hair. The 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:01.799 cassowaries feathers are not suitable for flight, but they work 0:03:01.919 --> 0:03:04.200 very well for a ground dwelling bird living in a 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:08.640 forest ecosystem. The longer, thinner feathers helped direct water away 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:11.280 from the body and also protect the bird's body from 0:03:11.360 --> 0:03:16.040 low branches, but sharp twigs and thorns. Meanwhile, they are 0:03:16.040 --> 0:03:20.440 prominent facial features. That cask and those wattles are something 0:03:20.480 --> 0:03:24.960 of a mystery. Evolutionarily speaking, the cask or that helmet 0:03:25.240 --> 0:03:28.919 is made of keratin, the same protein that birds feathers, nails, 0:03:28.919 --> 0:03:31.120 and beaks are made of and our hair and nails 0:03:31.160 --> 0:03:35.160 too for that matter. Schwartz explained. The outer covering is 0:03:35.200 --> 0:03:38.440 thick and hard, but the inside is very porous. The 0:03:38.480 --> 0:03:41.520 purpose of the cask is not completely understood, but several 0:03:41.560 --> 0:03:45.720 theories exist, including that it can help amplify vocalizations, serve 0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:49.120 as head protection as the bird pushes headfirst through dense forest, 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:51.720 or it may be another way for the birds to 0:03:51.920 --> 0:03:56.800 display age and vitality. As for those bright red wattles, 0:03:56.800 --> 0:04:00.960 Schwartz explained, of the three species of castaways, only the 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:04.880 northern and southern cassuaries have wattles. It's thought that they 0:04:04.880 --> 0:04:08.760 can help communicate the bird's current demeanor, indicate an individual 0:04:08.760 --> 0:04:12.800 bird's vitality to other cassawaries, or give other cues and 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:18.360 communications only known by cassuaries at this time. For as 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:22.400 fearsome as they may seem, cassuaries are frugivores, meaning they 0:04:22.480 --> 0:04:25.440 feed on fruits, which makes them very important to their 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:30.360 surrounding ecosystem. Schwartz explained. As they eat fruit, they walk 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:34.039 around and pass the seeds through their digestive tract. Thus 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:37.720 they're droppings deposit seeds that are surrounded in natural fertilizer, 0:04:38.080 --> 0:04:40.719 helping to spread the diversity of plants in their region. 0:04:42.279 --> 0:04:45.880 They're considered a keystone species due to their large size. 0:04:45.960 --> 0:04:48.960 They're able to spread larger seeds than most other birds, 0:04:49.440 --> 0:04:51.880 and those claws help them dig deep in the leaf 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:57.279 litter for fallen fruit that other species might miss. But 0:04:57.600 --> 0:05:00.760 don't worry too much about those claws. You'll probably never 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:05.039 encounter a cassuwary in the wild, Schwartz said. What they're 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:08.320 excellent hearing. They will hear you coming long before you 0:05:08.400 --> 0:05:11.400 even know they're there, and they will most likely disappear 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:14.880 into the forest to avoid you. However, should you ever 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:17.040 come across one in the wild, it's best to give 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:19.599 them plenty of room and not approach them or try 0:05:19.640 --> 0:05:23.440 to feed them. Should you happen to be near one, 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:27.359 though you probably won't hear it, however you might feel it, 0:05:28.000 --> 0:05:32.000 and that's because cassuaries call is Schwartz said, a deep, 0:05:32.160 --> 0:05:36.000 low frequency, booming sound. It's the lowest known call of 0:05:36.080 --> 0:05:38.760 any bird, and it's so low that it borders on 0:05:38.880 --> 0:05:42.200 being inaudible to the human ear. If you are nearby 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:45.200 when it does this call, you can feel the vibrations 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:50.320 in your chest. Female cassuaries lay large, beautiful eggs that 0:05:50.440 --> 0:05:53.920 typically arranging color from pastel mint to lime green to 0:05:54.320 --> 0:05:58.400 vibrant avocado. But after they do they abandon the clutch 0:05:58.600 --> 0:06:00.640 and it's up to the male birds to incubate the 0:06:00.680 --> 0:06:03.520 eggs and care for the chicks. After they hatch, a 0:06:03.600 --> 0:06:07.000 short said, the female returns to her solitary life and 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:09.680 does not participate in incubating the eggs or caring for 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:12.440 the young. This may be a way to allow her 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:15.000 to have several clutches of eggs in one breeding season 0:06:15.080 --> 0:06:19.039 with different males, thus diversifying her genetics into the next generation. 0:06:21.440 --> 0:06:26.400 But cassawari's population is dwindling. An organization called the International 0:06:26.480 --> 0:06:30.120 Union for Conservation of Nature keeps the world's most comprehensive 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:34.000 inventory of the global conservation status of planted animal species, 0:06:34.480 --> 0:06:37.520 and they list all three species of cassowary as either 0:06:37.640 --> 0:06:43.280 vulnerable or near threatened. Schwartz explained, unlike many species, their 0:06:43.320 --> 0:06:46.440 biggest challenges are the loss of habitat due to human 0:06:46.440 --> 0:06:50.799 population growth, roads being built causing car strikes, and human 0:06:50.839 --> 0:06:55.000 introduced species of animals rating nests. The good news is 0:06:55.040 --> 0:06:57.720 that the governments of the country's cassawaries call home are 0:06:57.760 --> 0:07:03.320 stepping up their conservation efforts. For example, dogs will kill 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:07.039 young cassowaries. Humans have sometimes hunted the birds for their 0:07:07.080 --> 0:07:10.640 meat and stunning feathers. There may be less than a 0:07:10.720 --> 0:07:14.559 thousand cassowaries left in the wild, but as Schwartz said, 0:07:14.680 --> 0:07:18.560 groups are working to protect and restore cassowaries habitats as 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:21.720 well to create safe passage for these and other rainforest 0:07:21.720 --> 0:07:25.640 creatures by a strategic buy back of rainforest properties and 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:33.920 the regeneration of damaged rainforest. Today's episode is based on 0:07:33.960 --> 0:07:37.000 the article the cassowary is the World's most dangerous bird 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:40.600 on housetofworks dot com, written by Wendy Bowman. Rain Stuff 0:07:40.640 --> 0:07:42.880 is production of iHeart Radio in partnership with how stuff 0:07:42.880 --> 0:07:45.600 works dot com, and it's produced by Tyler Playing Before. 0:07:45.640 --> 0:07:48.600 More podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the heart Radio app, 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:51.600 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.