Cassowary rescue update

Bernard’s Rescue

Update on the “angry” bird…

In December 2012 WFFT received a call about an injured emu that had escaped from a temple in Hua Hin and been caught by a local foundation. The WFFT rescue team arrived to find, not an emu, but a very sick Cassowary. The beautiful, 30kg bird, native to North East Australia and Papua New Guinea, had suffered severe head injuries and muscle damage during escape and capture and was extremely weak. Our rescue team, aware of the Cassowary’s reputation as the most dangerous bird in the world, guided him into the transport cage with great care. Back at WFFT, the Cassowary, named ‘Bernard’ received several weeks of supportive treatment for his head injuries and capture myopathy but a month passed before he could walk comfortably and learn how to eat again on his own. Bernard has turned out to be a uniquely gentle Cassowary, perhaps due to weeks of hand feeding and some permanent brain damage he shows none of the aggression expected from even a captive Cassowary. We are still extremely cautious of his strong legs and dagger-like claws however!

The first story on the rescue of Cassie: http://www.wfft.org/uncategorized/cassowary-rescue-huahin/