The narration in this clip provides an account that's actually contested. Ratites seem to have evolved too recently for the Gondwana hypothesis. Which would leave parallel evolution, accounting for why there's no single ratite territory in the world.
The narrator is very right that the cassowary is not to be messed with, though. The birds bulk is more compact than the ostrich or emu. So it pays to tread carefully with them.
2 comments:
I've read about cassowaries and just how dangerous they can be. Fortunately they're also very shy of human contact so the problems doesn't come up very often. That wasn't so true of the New Zealand moa that became extinct shortly after the arrival of the Maori. Apparently cassowary meat is supposed to be tough. Instructions for cooking one is to put a stone in the pot with the bird and when the stone is ready to eat so is the cassowary.
Did I ever tell you the story about Johnny Cash and the ostrich? I'm not sure whether I did or not but it's worth reading again.
It's interesting that the moa were native to New Zealand, a territory that was ideal for flightless birds to live. And of course they were huge. But they died off while similarly built birds in Africa (ostriches), Australia (emus), and South America (rheas) have survived. Less prepared for the arrival of humans, maybe. As for cassowary meat, if you're expected to eat it with a side of rocks I think I'll pass.
"Ostrich attacks are rare in Tennessee, it’s true..." Yeah, I imagine it is. There's a difference between tame and domesticated, and I believe despite being grown on ranches ostriches have only ever been the former.
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