A cassowary – a large, flightless bird native to Australia and Papua New Guinea – has killed its Florida owner when it attacked him after he fell. The fire rescue department in Alachua county told the Gainesville Sun newspaper the cassowary killed the man on Friday on his property near Gainesville, in the north of the state, likely using its long claws. The victim, whose name was not released, was apparently breeding the birds, state wildlife officials said. “It looks like it was accidental. My understanding is that the gentleman was in the vicinity of the bird and at some point fell. When he fell, he was attacked,” the deputy chief, Jeff Taylor, told the newspaper. Cassowaries are similar to emus. They can be up to 2 meters (6ft) tall and weigh up to 60kg (130lb), with black body feathers and bright blue heads and necks. The San Diego zoo’s website calls cassowaries the world’s most dangerous bird with a 10cm dagger-like claw on each foot. “The cassowary can slice open any predator or potential threat with a single swift kick. Powerful legs help the cassowary run up to 31 miles per hour (50km/h) through the dense forest underbrush,” the website says. Cassowaries are not raised for food in the US, but are sought after by collectors. It is not clear what happened to the bird.<doc-sep>A large, flightless bird native to Australia and New Guinea attacked and killed its owner when the man fell on his farm in Florida, authorities said Saturday. The Alachua County Fire Rescue Department told the Gainesville Sun that a cassowary killed the man Friday on the property near Gainesville, likely using its long claws. The victim was apparently breeding the birds, state wildlife officials said. “My understanding is that the gentleman was in the vicinity of the bird and at some point fell. When he fell, he was attacked,” Deputy Chief Jeff Taylor told the newspaper. He said first responders got a call at 10 a.m. Friday and rushed the man to a hospital for trauma care, but he died. The county sheriff’s office identified the victim as Marvin Hajos, 75, and said a death investigation had been opened. Advertisement “Initial information indicates that this was a tragic accident for Mr. Hajos,” said Lt. Brett Rhodenizer, a sheriff’s office spokesman, in an email to the paper. “The cassowary involved remains secured on private property at this time.” Cassowaries are similar to emus and stand up to 6 feet tall and weigh up to 130 pounds, with black body feathers and distinctive, bright blue heads and necks. The San Diego Zoo website calls the cassowary the world’s most dangerous bird with a 4-inch, dagger-like claw on each foot. “The cassowary can slice open any predator or potential threat with a single swift kick. Powerful legs help the cassowary run up to 31 mph through the dense forest underbrush,” the website says. Cassowaries are eaten in parts of New Guinea. The birds are not raised for food in the U.S. but are sought after by collectors of exotic birds, according to authorities. To obtain a mandatory permit, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission requires cassowary owners to have “substantial experience” and meet specific cage requirements, spokeswoman Karen Parker told the newspaper. She said the commission listed the cassowary as a type of wildlife that could “pose a danger to people.” Wildlife officials did not answer phone calls late Saturday from the Associated Press, and it wasn’t immediately known what would happen with the bird. Walkabout Australia opens at San Diego Zoo Safari Park »<doc-sep>An exotic bird related to the emu killed its owner in Florida on Friday, according to authorities. Marvin Hajos, 75, owned a farm in Alachua where he kept a cassowary, Alachua County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Brett Rhodenizer told The Gainesville Sun. The cassowary remained secured on the property, according to Rhodenizer. Police have launched an investigation into the death, he said. Hajos was breeding cassowaries at the property, Karen Parker, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission regional spokesperson, told the newspaper. Alachua County Fire Rescue Deputy Chief Jeff Taylor told The Gainesville Sun: "It looks like it was accidental. My understanding is that the gentleman was in the vicinity of the bird and at some point fell. When he fell, he was attacked." A woman at the property who told The Gainseville Sun she was Hajos' fiance and had been with him for 20 years commented: "He was doing what he loved." The newspaper reported that a cassowary could be seen on the property on Saturday, along with a smaller exotic bird. Cassowary are characterized by their black, two-quilled feathers that resemble hair and keep the animals dry in the rain forests of New Guinea and Queensland, Australia. The birds are closely related to the emu, and are "rightfully considered the most dangerous bird in the world," according to the San Diego Zoo website. The largest of these flightless birds, the southern cassowary, can measure between 4-5.6 feet in height. Females can weigh up to 167 pounds, and males 121 pounds, making it the heaviest bird in the world after the ostrich, to which it is related. "Each 3-toed foot has a dagger-like claw on the inner toe that is up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) long," San Diego Zoo states. "The cassowary can slice open any predator or potential threat with a single swift kick. Powerful legs help the cassowary run up to 31 miles per hour (50 kilometers per hour) through the dense forest underbrush." The creatures can jump almost 7 feet into the air, "so the bird is quite good at fending off threats or escaping danger," the zoo states. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission categorises the cassowary as a Class II species which can "pose a danger to people." Keepers must have "substantial experience," special cages and permits for the sale, possession, or public exhibition of cassowaries and other Class II species. Eric Slovak, assistant curator of birds at the National Zoo in Washington told The Washington Post: "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. "It's just kind of a big, 200-pound, six-foot bird roaming around eating fruit all day," Slovak explained, adding: "I would not understand why anyone would want to keep a cassowary as a pet."<doc-sep>A mural of George Floyd is shown in the intersection of 38th St & Chicago Ave on March 31, 2021 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 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(Photo by CARLOS OSORIO / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS OSORIO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) 'Never seen levels like this': Union president on airline passenger misconduct Memorial Day weekend will bring rain and cool air for much of the East (CNN) — A cassowary, a giant bird with long claws on each foot, killed its owner after he fell in the backyard of his Gainesville, Florida, home, officials told CNN. The bird’s owner, Marvin Hajos – who is 75, according to CNN affiliate WCJB – made the initial call to 911 Friday about 10 a.m. ET. A second call came from another person at the scene who reported a medical emergency involving a large bird, said Lt. Joshua Crews of the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. Hajos was transported to a nearby hospital, where he died, the lieutenant said. The cassowary remains on Hajos’ property as authorities conduct an investigation into the attack, he said. The owner was a breeder of the rare bird that is native to Australia and New Guinea, Alachua County Deputy Fire Chief Jeff Taylor said. The death was an accident, officials said. It appears the man fell, and the cassowary attacked him after the fall, Taylor said. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission considers cassowaries Class II wildlife, meaning they pose a danger to humans and are subject to specific cage requirements. Owners must also have “substantial experience” with the animals, the commission says. Class II is the same category as alligators, honey badgers and clouded leopards, while Class I includes more traditional predators such as a lions, tigers and bears. The cassowary is a “large, flightless bird most closely related to the emu,” according to the San Diego Zoo. It can run up to 31 mph through dense underbrush, jump almost 7 feet into the air and is a skilled swimmer, so it can deftly fend off threats, the zoo says. They can grow more than 5 feet tall and the heaviest females can weigh more than 160 pounds, the zoo says. Males weigh up to 120 pounds. “The cassowary is rightfully considered the most dangerous bird in the world!” the zoo says. “Each 3-toed foot has a dagger-like claw on the inner toe that is up to 4 inches (10 centimeters) long! The cassowary can slice open any predator or potential threat with a single swift kick.”<doc-sep>
ALACHUA, Fla. — A large, flightless bird native to Australia and New Guinea attacked and killed its owner when the man fell on his property in Florida, authorities said Saturday. The Alachua County Fire Rescue Department told the Gainesville Sun that a cassowary killed the man Friday on the property near Gainesville, likely using its long claws. The victim, whose name was not released, was apparently breeding the birds, state wildlife officials said. "It looks like it was accidental. My understanding is that the gentleman was in the vicinity of the bird and at some point fell. When he fell, he was attacked," Deputy Chief Jeff Taylor told the newspaper. Cassowaries are similar to emus and stand up to 6 feet tall and weigh up to 130 pounds, with black body feathers and bright blue heads and necks. The San Diego Zoo's website calls cassowaries the world's most dangerous bird with a four-inch, dagger-like claw on each foot. "The cassowary can slice open any predator or potential threat with a single swift kick. Powerful legs help the cassowary run up to 31 miles per hour through the dense forest underbrush," the website says. Cassowaries are not raised for food in the U.S., but are sought after by collectors of exotic birds. To obtain the mandatory permit, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission requires cassowary owners to have "substantial experience" and meet specific cage requirements, spokeswoman Karen Parker told the newspaper. Wildlife officials did not answer phone calls late Saturday from The Associated Press and it could not be learned what happened to the bird.