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Curious cassowary 'Peanut' ventures into home, forcing owners to take cover | Curious cassowary 'Peanut' ventures into home, forcing owners to take cover |
(5 months later) | |
A cassowary named Peanut has surprised a Queensland family by venturing into their home as they were preparing dinner. | A cassowary named Peanut has surprised a Queensland family by venturing into their home as they were preparing dinner. |
Sue and Peter Leach, from Wongaling Beach in the state’s north, were forced to take cover after discovering the native bird – which can grow up to 2m tall – standing in their lounge-dining room. | Sue and Peter Leach, from Wongaling Beach in the state’s north, were forced to take cover after discovering the native bird – which can grow up to 2m tall – standing in their lounge-dining room. |
“We leave all the doors open when we’re at home and I guess he was curious, but I hot-footed it out of the house and hid in the garage because although we know him he is still a wild animal,” Sue Leach told the Cairns Post. | “We leave all the doors open when we’re at home and I guess he was curious, but I hot-footed it out of the house and hid in the garage because although we know him he is still a wild animal,” Sue Leach told the Cairns Post. |
Peanut, thought to be about three years old, has long wandered through the Leach backyard but until this week had stayed outside. | Peanut, thought to be about three years old, has long wandered through the Leach backyard but until this week had stayed outside. |
“My husband hid behind the dining room table and took some photos and he was only in there for a few minutes. He must have come in through the garage door and walked back out the front door.” | “My husband hid behind the dining room table and took some photos and he was only in there for a few minutes. He must have come in through the garage door and walked back out the front door.” |
Equipped with three sharp claws – one curved, two straight – on each leg and able to run up to 50km/h, the cassowary has been named by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s most dangerous bird. | Equipped with three sharp claws – one curved, two straight – on each leg and able to run up to 50km/h, the cassowary has been named by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s most dangerous bird. |
The title is granted largely on the basis of the bird’s lethal potential, not its record: no one is known to have been killed by the gaudy animal since 1926, when 16-year-old Phillip McLean reportedly had his throat punctured by a bird on his Queensland ranch. | The title is granted largely on the basis of the bird’s lethal potential, not its record: no one is known to have been killed by the gaudy animal since 1926, when 16-year-old Phillip McLean reportedly had his throat punctured by a bird on his Queensland ranch. |
Leach said on Thursday she was glad Peanut “didn’t do a poo because they are massive and, because cassowaries eat quite a few berries, their poo is quite purple and it would stain the floor. I’m also glad he didn’t spot the fruit bowl”. | Leach said on Thursday she was glad Peanut “didn’t do a poo because they are massive and, because cassowaries eat quite a few berries, their poo is quite purple and it would stain the floor. I’m also glad he didn’t spot the fruit bowl”. |
She is going to take precautionary measures in the future. “I might have to put the grandkids’ baby gate back up,” she said. | She is going to take precautionary measures in the future. “I might have to put the grandkids’ baby gate back up,” she said. |
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