Most Dangerous Bird in World Kills US Owner

A cassowary is a large flightless bird native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Photograph: Wilson Ring/AP
A cassowary is a large flightless bird native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Photograph: Wilson Ring/AP
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Most Dangerous Bird in World Kills US Owner

A cassowary is a large flightless bird native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Photograph: Wilson Ring/AP
A cassowary is a large flightless bird native to Australia and Papua New Guinea. Photograph: Wilson Ring/AP

Local media sources reported that a cassowary, considered the "most dangerous bird in the world" killed a man in Florida.

The cassowary, a large, flightless, and the second most weighing bird after ostrich, is native to Australia and New Guinea, the German News Agency reported.

The Alachua County Fire Rescue Department told the Gainesville Sun that the man fell, and the cassowary attacked him with its huge claws after the fall. The injured man was then transported to the hospital where he died later.

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, which can be up to 1.7 meters tall, can slice open any predator or potential threat with a single swift kick.

According to the Gainesville Sun, the victim was apparently breeding the bird that enjoys a wide popularity among collectors of unfamiliar birds.



Electric Fences, Drones, Dogs Protect G7 Leaders from Bear Attack

Grizzly bears are a threat at the G7 summit in Canada. JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP
Grizzly bears are a threat at the G7 summit in Canada. JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP
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Electric Fences, Drones, Dogs Protect G7 Leaders from Bear Attack

Grizzly bears are a threat at the G7 summit in Canada. JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP
Grizzly bears are a threat at the G7 summit in Canada. JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP

Electric fences, drones, thermal cameras and police dogs have all been deployed at the G7 summit in the Canadian Rockies to protect world leaders from hungry bears.

US President Donald Trump, Italy's Giorgia Meloni and France's Emmanuel Macron are among leaders gathered Monday at a remote mountain lodge for talks -- uninterrupted, if all goes to plan, by ursine attacks.

"While grizzly bears are a top concern, the team is prepared for all wildlife species," Alberta's Ministry of Public Safety spokesperson Sheena Campbell said.

Security teams have erected "fence barriers around locations where attractants (food) are present, including the use of electric bear fence enclosures."

She said fencing was a minimum eight feet (2.4 meters) high to ensure guest safety as part of a multi-pronged operation to prevent "close encounters" with wildlife.

Also being used in the anti-bear battle are thermal imaging cameras, drones from the famous Canadian "Mounties" police force and specially trained K-9 "bear dogs."

The drones will "monitor wildlife activity in real time," Campbell said, adding in the last week alone the team recorded activity of grizzly bears, black bears, cougars, moose, bighorn sheep and deer.

Canadian authorities and summit organizers declined to discuss further details for security reasons.

The Globe and Mail newspaper reported that a bear warning issued in May was still in place for the Kananaskis Country Golf Course -- where the G7 leaders are scheduled to hold their group portrait during the three-day summit.

The paper added about 65 grizzly bears live in Kananaskis, and some areas have been closed in recent weeks after reports of aggressive charges by a mother with two cubs.

Parks Canada advises that if a bear is protecting its young and sees you as a threat, fall on the ground and play dead. But if the bear is aggressive and after your food, stand your ground.