Australian native bird considered to be dangerous has long wandered through the backyard in Queensland’s north but until this week stayed outside

A cassowary named Peanut has surprised a Queensland family by venturing into their home as they were preparing dinner.

Sue and Peter Leach, from Wongaling Beach in the state’s north, were forced to take cover after discovering the native bird – which can grow up to 2m tall – standing in their lounge-dining room.

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“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,” Sue Leach told the Cairns Post.

Peanut, thought to be about three years old, has long wandered through the Leach backyard but until this week had stayed outside.

“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.”

Equipped with three sharp claws – one curved, two straight – on each leg and able to run up to 50km/h, the cassowary has been named by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s most dangerous bird.

The title is granted largely on the basis of the bird’s lethal potential, not its record: no one is known to have been killed by the gaudy animal since 1926, when 16-year-old Phillip McLean reportedly had his throat punctured by a bird on his Queensland ranch.

Leach said on Thursday she was glad Peanut “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”.

She is going to take precautionary measures in the future. “I might have to put the grandkids’ baby gate back up,” she said.