By Obiabin Onukwugha
The emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), is a species of flightless bird endemic to Australia, where it is the largest native bird.
Emu is the second-tallest living bird after its African ratite relative, the common ostrich.
Emus have soft, brown feathers with long necks and legs, and can reach up to 1.9 m (6 ft 3 in) in height. They are robust bipedal runners that can travel great distances, and when necessary can sprint at 48 km/h (30 mph).
They are omnivorous and forage on a variety of plants and insects, and can go for weeks without eating. They drink infrequently, but take in copious amounts of fresh water when the opportunity arises.
Emus have high economic value for their meat, eggs, oil, skin and feathers.
Breeding in Emu takes place in May and June. Fighting among females for a mate is common. Females can mate several times and lay several clutches of eggs in one season.
Researchers say that the male does the incubation. During this process, he hardly eats or drinks and loses a significant amount of weight. The eggs hatch after around eight weeks, and the young are nurtured by their fathers. They reach full size after around six months, but can remain as a family unit until the next breeding season.
Threats to their survival include egg predation by other animals, especially invasive species, like roadkills and habitat fragmentation.
The average lifespan of an emu is 10–12 years in the wild; however, in captivity, it can survive up to 35 years.
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Emus were used as a source of food by indigenous Australians and early European settlers. Emus are inquisitive birds and have been known to approach humans if they see unexpected movement of a limb or piece of clothing.
In the wild, they may follow and observe people. Aboriginal Australians used a variety of techniques to catch the birds, including spearing them while they drank at waterholes, catching them in nets, and attracting them by imitating their calls or by arousing their curiosity with a ball of feathers and rags dangled from a tree.
Emus are farmed primarily for their meat, leather, feathers and oil. In addition to their use in farming, emus are sometimes kept as pets, though they require adequate space and food in order to live healthily.
Emus were formerly subject to regulation in the United Kingdom under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act; however, a review of the act in 2007 led to changes that allow emus (alongside a number of other animals that were also regulated under the act) to be kept without a license, as they were no longer considered to be dangerous.
Emu In the Sky: The Blind Man and the Emu
One Australian folktale tells of a blind man who lived in a camp in the bush. He had a wife who lived with him and every day he would send his wife out to look for emu eggs for them to eat. His wife would dutifully oblige but no matter how hard she tried she could not please him. She would find the emu eggs and bring them back to him but he would complain they were too small and become angry with her. One day she went out looking for emu eggs and came across the tracks of a very large emu.
Thinking that such a large bird would lay large eggs she followed the tracks and found it sitting on its nest on the ground. Thinking the eggs would be large and would please her husband for a change, she became determined to get them and so she threw stones at the bird hoping to scare it off. Instead the bird stood up and attacked her and killed her.
Meanwhile the blind man was becoming hungry waiting for his wife and he also began to worry about her. Unable to see he began to feel his way cautiously around the camp until his hands felt a bush and feeling the branches he found some berries upon it.
Eating the berries he was suddenly cured of his blindness and picking up his spears he went out looking for his wife. He found her tracks and followed them and found her body by the emu’s nest. Realizing the emu had killed her he speared the emu and sent its spirit into the Milky Way.
There it remains to this day and can be seen at certain times of the year and became known as the Emu in the Sky.
