Cassowary drops in to say hello at Far North home

A CURIOUS cassowary has made itself at home in a Wongaling Beach family’s living room as the owner hid behind the dining room table.

Cassowary drops in to say hello

A CURIOUS cassowary has made itself at home in a Wongaling Beach family’s living room as the owner hid behind the dining room table.

Peanut, as he has been named by locals, is regularly spotted wandering through Sue and Peter Leach’s backyard but on Monday the large native bird decided the grass looked greener inside their house.

Mrs Leach said she was cooking dinner in the kitchen when she looked up and saw Peanut standing just metres away.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

Mrs Leach’s daughter Suzanne Hunter posted the photo on her Red Earth Baby Facebook page and it has since received dozens of comments and been shared more than 300 times.

“We have known Peanut since he was a chick and he would be at least three years old now, but he has never come into the house, so I might have to put the grandkids’ baby gate back up,” Mrs Leach said.

“I’m just so glad he 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.”

Hands on Wildlife’s Dan Bamblett said cassowary sightings were common around the Mission Beach area but he’d never heard of one like this.

“I have heard other stories of birds wandering on to people’s verandas but never inside someone’s living room,” he said. “Because of their loss of habitat they do tend to frequent yards and then their curiosity builds from there.”

Mr Bamblett said the best thing to do in a cassowary encounter was to remain calm and give it space to wander on.

“They are one of those animals that are quite confident but do spook,” he said.

Originally published as Cassowary drops in to say hello at Far North home