Emu
HE-MU and SHE-MU, our resident emus, arrived at our sanctuary in April 2011 from an elderly couple who found themselves with an accidental breeding and were unable to continue caring for them. Raised with extensive human interaction, they are incredibly friendly, with She-mu asserting dominance between the pair. During breeding season, She-mu typically lays between 9 and 12 eggs before leaving the nest, while He-mu earns the title of 'father of the year' for diligently protecting the eggs. Despite the natural instincts of emus in warmer climates like Australia, where males take brief breaks from nesting duties, our cold December weather prevents successful fertilization, leading us to collect and manage the 55 to 60 eggs laid per season.
Emus are not known for their intelligence compared to some bird species but notably won an unexpected victory in the Great Emu War of 1932. Western Australia faced an emu overpopulation crisis, prompting the government to allow military intervention to cull 20,000 birds. The attempt was largely unsuccessful as emus proved adept at evading gunfire, employing evasive maneuvers like serpentine movements. The operation's failure led to the implementation of barrier fencing as a more effective solution, highlighting the emus' respect or confusion towards man-made obstacles.
ORDER: Casuariiformes
FAMILY: Casuariidae
GENUS: Dromaius
SPECIES: Novaehollandiae
Emus are the second largest flightless bird in the world. They are semi-social, day dwelling omnivores, eating everything including their own fecal material to get all the possible nutrients. They get their name from the sound they make which sounds like the word,” E-moooo. They love water and can be good swimmers or rain dancers. They have large territories because they are always on the look out for food, from insects and lizards to leaves, plant seeds, flowers, fruit and grasses. Their calls can be heard up to 2 km away. They are polyandrous, meaning the female mates with multiple partners, throughout her life. They mate from December to January. The eggs are incubated by dad for about 8 weeks and then 5 to 15 chick’s hatch. They are independent at 1 yr. Their superpower is they are seed dispersers which helps keep biomes growing.
Threats
Humans hunting them for meat, oil, feathers and eggs.
Conservation Status
LC - Least Concern