Cassowary

Cassowaries are the only members of the family Casuariidae and belong to the order Casuariiformes, which also includes the emu. Three species—some researchers consider them six—each with many races coexist in habitats spread across sections of Australia and New Guinea. The cassowary has a reputation for killing people with cutting foot strikes because the innermost toe of each of its three toes possesses a long, dagger-like nail. The bird has been seen racing as fast as 50 km/h (31 mph) along slender paths through the jungle.

Cassowaries are curious animals that occasionally attack, but assaults on people are rather uncommon. Attacks that do take place frequently include asking people for food. One of the most recent occurrences occurred in Queensland, Australia, in 2012 when a tourist was booted by a cassowary off a ledge and into a body of water but otherwise escaped unscathed. One of the most well-known attacks, and the only one known to have resulted in a definite death, was in 1926 when a cassowary pounced on a member of a party of teenage lads hunting cassowaries and killed him. The bird's long toenail sliced the boy's jugular vein.