Man Killed by a Bird in Florida

Known as an extremely dangerous bird, a Cassowary on Friday killed a man in Florida. The enormous flightless bird is known for its anger and attacking attitude and for this reason, even the experience zookeepers take precautions while handling the bird.

75-year-old Marvin Hajos owned a farm near Alachua, Florida where several other Cassowaries were found. He also raised the bird in the farm along with other exotic birds.

According to Lt. Josh Crews of the Alachua County Sheriff's Office Emergency medical workers received a call at about 10 am and immediately went for the rescue. On reaching they found, Hajos fell after the bird attacked and injured him severely. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died.

Police are now investigating the circumstances that led to the death. Hajos loved birds and therefore has set up the bird farm on the outskirts of Florida. A woman related to Hajos said, “He was doing what he loved”.

The Sheriff’s Office has also informed that they may coordinate with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission for the investigation. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission identify cassowaries as ‘Class II Wildlife’ that can ‘pose a danger to people’. The commission requires a permit for the sale, public exhibition, or possession of these birds.

Cassowaries have three species and are native of Queensland, Australia and New Guinea. They are a relative of emus, ostriches and rheas. They are covered by thick black feathers, from which a cobalt blue and vibrant red neck protrudes, which leads to their head adorned with a keratin ‘casque’ or crest.

What makes them dangerous are their feet. They have three toes, which have pointed nails, the middle finger is the most dangerous one, which takes the form of a dagger that is several inches long.

Eric Slovak, assistant curator of birds at the National Zoo in Washington says, “If you were kicked by a cassowary with that nail, it would do a lot of damage to you. You would wind up in the hospital for sure”.

Cassowaries are a dangerous but lonely and shy bird. In the wild, they hide themselves deep in the rain forests, but when they occasionally encounter humans while crossing a road or a neighborhood they attack. Slovak further says, “It’s just kind of a big, 200-pound, 6-foot bird roaming around eating fruit all day”.

In the National Zoo, Slovak said they took serious precautions with the birds. Their enclosures were built with doors and gates to separate them from the humans who needed to enter. “At no time, ever, do we ever go in with the cassowary, Not because they’re mean, but because we know how dangerous they could be if they got spooked for any reason” Slovak said.

There have been incidents of frightful encounters in the past, mostly in Australia, though the last known death happened in the year 1926. In a 1999 study, Christopher Kofron of the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service investigated 221 Cassowary attacks in Australia and found that 150 were on humans. Kofron observed that the attacks by Cassowary happened only when they were defending themselves, their food or their offspring from human beings.