clipped from: www.sandiegozoo.org 
Range: northern Australia, New Guinea, and surrounding islands |
The cassowary is rightfully considered the most dangerous bird in the world! Its three-toed feet have daggerlike claws from the inner toe that are up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) long! It can slice open any predator or potential threat with a single swift kick and can run 31 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour) through the dense forest underbrush. A cassowary can also jump nearly 7 feet (2 meters) straight up into the air and swim like a champ, so the bird is quite good at fending off threats or escaping danger! That long claw also comes in handy when digging for fallen fruit in the leaf litter.
