In 1926, when Philip, sixteen, of Australia, and his thirteen-year-old brother, while wandering in the forest, they met a strange-looking big bird, and the playful brothers picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the ostrich, and the enraged ostrich did not show weakness, and launched a counterattack against them, kicking Philip a few meters away, and then immediately rushed over, scratched his neck with his claws, and finally, Philip died of excessive blood loss.
It was confirmed that this strange-looking bird was a crane camel. Mentioning a crane camel should feel strange to most people, but it has another name, "Killing Bird".
A "killer bird" that combines beauty and fierceness
The crane camel grows in the tropical rainforests of Australia, and it is said that it can swallow charcoal, so it is also known as the "firefighter".
The crane camel resembles an ostrich, but is only about 1.5 meters tall. The feathers of the crane camel are not dazzling, and the texture is very rough, the feathers are light brown when they are underage, and they will appear black when they are adults. But its neck and head, which are exposed outside the feathers, are like a peacock with gorgeous blue, the side of the neck and the back of the neck are purple and orange feathers, and there are bright red flesh hangings under the front neck, and the color changes with age, and the female crane's front neck has a larger fleshy hanging than the male, which can help people identify its gender.
In addition, the crane camel has a high, flattened, half-fanned black-green crown on the top of its head, which protects its head like a helmet and can play a role in opening up roads when running in the woods.
At the same time, this large helmet can also assist them in transmitting sound, living in the dense forest of cranes and camels, in order to make their voices can penetrate the forest, they will make lower frequency calls than other birds, and the helmet plays the role of sound wave receiver.
The bright colors make the crane camel particularly conspicuous in the green forest, but it has no guardian, because the crane camel itself is a "fighting master".
Cranes and camels are large, but their wings are short and incapable of flying, so these birds feed on low branches or fruits dropped from trees, and sometimes change their taste and eat fungi, insects, small fish and rats to replenish their energy.
Don't look at the crane camel usually feeds mainly on plant fruits, but its ferocity and cruelty cannot be underestimated.
Cranes prefer to live in the depths of forests and sparsely populated areas, usually living in single-habitat or pairs, so they are very territorially aware and vigilant, and if threatened, they will immediately switch to attack mode. Crane camels can not only fight and jump, but also swim. Whether it is in the dense jungle or in the rushing waters, it cannot stop its determination to retaliate.
Once someone or animal violates it, it will fight back fiercely, attacking the enemy with its sharp claws, and the other party will be injured and the heavier will be killed.
Crane camel's stunt
Skill one, run and jump
Although the legs are not as long as the fastest ostrich, the crane camel with short legs and high frequency can run up to 50 kilometers per hour, and with the bone helmet on its head breaking the wind, the crane camel wants to quickly pass through the jungle above itself, and there is almost no obstacle. Moreover, the crane camel jumps up to 1.5 meters, and its running and jumping ability is second only to the African ostrich.
Imagine an adult crane camel rushing towards you from fifty meters away, and then a jump quickly knocks you down with 70 kilograms of flesh. Adults don't have time to react with speed and irresistible weight, let alone two little boys with no chickens in their hands.
Skill two, "serve people" with legs
Ostriches, which resemble cranes and camels, prefer to attack in a pecking manner, but they are not fatal. This is also true of the crane camel, but it is better at relying on powerful legs and claws for defense, and the cases of crane camels causing death are all because of its dangerous feet.
First, the crane camel's leg strength is amazing, and it can kick you away at once.
The legs of the crane camel can kick forward and backward, and the control is very strong, and when passing through the forest, the crane camel can deftly avoid human round-up with extremely light and slow steps. Crane camel's leg muscles are very strong, even kick through the steel plate, someone abroad has been tested, an adult man holding an iron plate close to the crane camel, after feeling threatened, the crane camel quickly jumped, kicked hard to the steel plate, long and powerful nails directly penetrated this several millimeters thick iron plate.
Just think, if the crane camel falls on a person with all its strength, it is not a joke.
Second, the most deadly weapon of the crane camel is its long fingernails.
If you are lucky enough to dodge the first kick of the crane camel, your opponent will experience its deadliest trick. The crane's sharp fingernails not only assist them in running, but also serve as a weapon for them to kill their targets.
There are three toes on the feet of the crane camel, and the sharp claws can reach up to 15 centimeters, and the long nails like daggers can easily cut through the skin and even the pulse of the person.
With its strong bouncing power, it will never back down even in the face of a large invader. When attacking the enemy, the crane camel will "exhale" into the air after the auxiliary run, and then concentrate all its strength on its two feet, quickly cross the target, directly tear open the opponent's abdomen, and hook its internal organs.
It can be seen how dangerous and aggressive the crane camel is.
Humans make the crane camel a "killing bird"
The various deeds of the crane and camel have made it rated by the Guinness Book of World Records as "the most dangerous animal in the world". A fierce-looking, grumpy crane camel, does he like to kill people so much?
In fact, it is not, and the crane is more willing to become a vegetarian. Crane camels are not bloodthirsty carnivores, and even in many cases they are timid and shy.
On the one hand, the crane and camel do not take the initiative to attack humans, and only fight back when threatened and violated.
The crane and camel are highly territorial, especially during the breeding season, the female crane and camel will leave after laying the bird's eggs, leaving only the male to hatch alone, in order to protect their territory and the safety of the unborn child, they will show more aggressiveness. When other animals or humans invade, the crane and camel will attack and drive away the invaders.
On the other hand, perhaps in the eyes of the crane camel, humans are the most dangerous invaders.
As we mentioned before, crane camels prefer a free life away from people rather than good food and drink in captivity. In the last century, the gorgeous feathers of the crane camel were favored by many noblewomen, and in order to get this fine ornament, European colonists even carried out a large-scale hunting operation for the crane camel, and for a time, humans became the biggest threat to the survival of the crane and camel.
In recent years, with the deforestation of human beings, the habitat of crane camels has been destroyed and lost, in the face of human invasion, cranes and camels will not compromise and migrate, but choose to resist, so the war between humans and cranes and camels is about to break out.
Because of the aggressive nature of the crane camels, many cranes and camels have been hunted and killed by humans without the ability to arrest or expel them. On some of Australia's roads close to the habitat of the crane camels, some cranes and camels have been exempted from arrest, and there are often accidents in which cars crash and kill the cranes and camels.
Over the past three decades, the number of crane camels has dropped by 30 percent, and they have even become rarer animals than giant pandas. According to incomplete statistics, the number of wild cranes and camels is now only a few thousand.
Although the crane camel is fierce, but only rely on the fruit of the plant to feed the birds, perhaps in their view, human invasion is the greatest threat to survival, human beings are natural enemies, in order to protect their own place of survival, they must be protected, but not all crane camels are hostile to humans, they have no intention of hurting people, but because of human aggression has become a murderous "killing bird".