It’s not every day you see an emu on the loose in the US.
The emu is a funny old bird. It’s the second largest in the world, and can often have a rather nasty temperament. They’re indigenous to Australia, but they have been imported all over the world. The flightless birds may not be able to scale fences, but they sure can run. So, when the Flodia police got a call about an emu on the loose, they had their work cut out for them.
Early afternoon, police in Orlando received a call from locals about an emu wandering around a pond. The big bird had made its escape from a fenced-off farm in the vicinity. When they arrived, it was up to them to learn how to herd the unruly and belligerent bird.
“Our deputies probably were not expecting to have to wrangle an emu when they arrived to work, but this just goes to show they can handle any situation that comes their way,” an official said.
However, they did their best and eventually managed to get the emu under control. They kept it safe and even gave it a little water to drink. Eventually, the owners showed up to where the naught poultry was chilling with the police, and they loaded it up and took it home.
The Great Emu War
This time around, it was only one large bird, and the situation was handled by a few police officers. But, in the past, there have been whole wars waged with the humble emu. In fact, the Great Emu War of 1932 is the only one the Australians have ever lost.
When the white man first began colonizing Australia, they found that the indigenous people weren’t the only thing causing problems. There were also flocks of emu that would roam the wilds of the country, eating crops and attacking people.
The government at the time decided that something needed to be done about the huge flightless birds. And so, armed with Lewis guns, the military was deployed to kill the flocks. However, it was a bigger task than they realised.
The first round of attacks persisted for six days and saw 2,500 rounds of ammunition fired at the emu herds. Only 50 were reported killed. The second round of attacks, again, saw thousands of rounds of ammunition fired, with limited kills. It was reported that it was around 10 rounds per kill.
The birds were too fast, and appeared too organised to be killed. Eventually, the government called off the war due to it being too expensive and ineffective.