What should you do when you encounter a deadly animal? Do you drop on the ground and play dead? Run away as far as you can? Or do you just stay still and hope that they go away on their own?

It’s easy to imagine what to do if you’re safe behind a phone screen, but if faced with the real thing, it’s more than likely that you’d be frozen in fear even if your brain is running a hundred miles an hour just thinking about what to do on the spot.

PHOTO: Unsplash/Mitchell Orr

It’s one thing to expect a rare sighting of an animal, but it’s a completely different thing to actually come face-to-face with said animal.

Etty Bay is a popular beach in Queensland, but they’re known best because of the Southern Cassowary that frequents the area.

Normally, people would stay away from such places. Think of it as if there are sharks around the beach – You wouldn’t want to go near the water then, right?

But Etty Bay actually made the Cassowary their natural tourist attraction. They don’t exploit the animal, don’t worry. Even though Cassowaries are known to be the world’s most dangerous bird, those that roam Etty Bay are used to humans and are considered quite tame despite their deadly reputation.

PHOTO: Pixabay/Anja Schröder

“They are wild, prehistoric creatures who have the means to cause serious injury to disrespectful tourists - don't be one of those,” a travel guide said.

When you spot a cassowary, keep your distance. Since the cassowaries at Etty Bay are used to being around people, they’re not afraid to approach unsuspecting tourists. Absolutely do not feed them even if they seem friendly. Back away slowly and put something in between the two of you and wait for it to lose interest.

I can’t really say this is a good example, but if you don’t have anything near you, see this tourist use their camera as protection (if you can even call it that). Also, it gives us an amazing up-close shot of this curious yet deadly animal.

There’s also this old video of a family getting surprised by a cassowary that literally popped up from behind them at Etty Bay. What would you do if you turned your head and saw the big beak of a cassowary right in front of your eyes?

“We had a little freeze mode going on. There was a little bit of shock,” Julie Nos, the person behind the camera, said. I feel like this is an understatement, honestly.

Luckily for them, the cassowary quickly lost interest and walked away.

The cassowaries are capable animals, and they are not to be messed with. Respect them, and they’ll leave you alone. If you don’t, well...Let’s just say you won’t be the first human victim.