Page 73 - Atlas Of The World's Strangest Animals

EMU 73

Male emus are devoted parents. For eight weeks, they sit on Once they’ve hatched, the father takes charge of the chicks –
the nest,while the female leaves the male to hold the baby. protecting them and teaching them how to forage for food.

While the chicks are happy to make friends, their father is If the interloper stands his ground, things could get nasty!
wary of the approaching male and attempts to drive him away. Emus don’t pull their punches –or their kicks!

region, that everything changed.The giant moa (Dinornis) continent. In 1932, there was even an ‘emu war’, when the
became the first victim of these new arrivals.These government sent out troops to cull the rising numbers of
enormous ratites grew up to 3.6m (12ft) tall, but their emus that were destroying farmers’ crops.Yet these hardy
great size offered them no protection from humans. and adaptable creatures have survived it all. In part this
Between the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, these may be due to their speed.When trouble strikes, their
gentle giants were hunted to extinction. Later, European powerful legs can carry them out of danger at speeds of
settlers continued the trend and brought with them other 48km/h (30mph)!
predators – rats and cats – against which flightless species Flocks of wild emu are no longer as widespread as they
had no defence. once were, but because these fabulous birds are nomadic
Compared to Australasia’s other flightless species, then, – migrating with the rains – they always find food.And
emus have come out of this clash between man and beast they can survive for weeks before they do.Their strange
relatively unscathed. On the Australian mainland, these plumage insulates their skin and enables them to endure
bizarre beasts have been hunted for their oil, meat, eggs life even in Australia’s baking hot plains.The only region
and leather for as long as people have lived on the they avoid are the deserts.

(c) 2011 Marshall Cavendish. All Rights Reserved.