Natural habitat of the emu ostrich. Emu: an ostrich-like bird
Emu is a large, flightless Australian bird. Emu, together with, is Australia's coat of arms. This ostrich is not only a great runner, but also a great swimmer. Bird report with video and photo
Detachment - Cassowary
Family - Emu
Genus / Species - Dromaius novaehollandiae
Basic data:
SIZE
Height: up to 1.7 m.
Body height: 1m.
Weight: emu weighs an average of 50 kg, females are slightly heavier than males.
REPRODUCTION
Puberty: from 2 years old.
Breeding period: depends on the region.
Carrying: 1 or 2 per year.
Number of eggs: 7-8.
Incubation: 56-66 days.
LIFESTYLE
Habits: emu ostriches (see photo) outside the nesting period lead a flocking nomadic life.
Food: plants, seeds and fruits, as well as insects, small rodents and lizards.
Life Expectancy: 5-10 years, more in captivity.
RELATED SPECIES
The relatives of the emu are cassowary and.
The usual plumage of emu is dark in color, and by the nesting period it becomes light brown. This unusual flightless bird is a close relative of the cassowary and the African ostrich. All these birds have a similar skull structure and equally long, strong legs.
REPRODUCTION
The male builds an oval platform on the ground, 1 m long and 70 cm wide. The nest is lined with grass, leaves and twigs.
The female lays 7-8 large, olive-green eggs in the nest. It is interesting that the male, and not the female, incubates the eggs and takes care of the chicks. A caring father incubates eggs for 56-66 days, while all this time he does not eat and only occasionally goes to a watering hole. It should be noted that in the first and last week hatching, the male does not leave the nest at all - even for a watering hole. During all this time, the male emu loses up to a third of its weight. Chicks hatch after 56-66 days and leave the nest rather quickly. After the appearance of chicks, the male spends all his attention on them. He takes care of chicks for 5-7 months.
EMU AND HUMAN
A. Brehm described six species of emu that lived on the islands surrounding Australia. Unfortunately, the first settlers completely destroyed the population of these birds, so at present only one species of emu is known. These amazing birds were killed for their meat. Their fat was used to make oil, which was used for medicinal purposes and as fuel. Emus are being destroyed these days because they cause significant harm. agriculture... Emus also drink water and eat grass in pastures where flocks of sheep graze. The emu population on the Australian continent has survived, despite all government programs to exterminate them. People's concern for emu is manifested in the fact that they arrange drinkers for these birds.
LIFESTYLE
Outside the nesting period, emus keep in small groups. In dry periods, they unite in flocks of many thousands. Emu are nomadic birds. In search of food, they travel great distances. Emus are perfectly adapted for travel, therefore only during the nesting period, when males incubate eggs, they are on long time linger in one place. Having found a rich food source, they accumulate fat. Due to this, the bird, whose mass is 45 kg, survives in a time of famine, when its weight decreases to 30 kg (males lose up to one third of their weight during incubation).
FOOD
Emu chooses his food very carefully. Prefers hearty foods such as seeds, plant buds and fruits. It also eats juicy roots. The emu does not eat grass and dry branches even when there is no better food. Emu also eats insects, lizards and rodents, especially if there are a lot of them. Swallows pebbles, which facilitates better digestion of food in the stomach. Some stones can be quite large and weigh up to 50 g.
Emu requires regular watering and is an excellent swimmer. Thanks to nutritious food, small ostriches grow up quite quickly. The large amount of food and its availability is the reason for the rapid increase in the number of this species.
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Birds are becoming less and less, on the island of Tasmania they were destroyed in the 19th century.
Emu is a flightless bird. Its weight is 55 kg, height - 170 cm. Lives throughout Australia, they can be found in the steppes and semi-deserts. Nests are arranged on the ground from densely knocked down grass. Here they lay 8-10 eggs, which are incubated by the father. They feed on fresh grass shoots, seeds, berries, and can eat locusts and grasshoppers. Often they spoil the crop by eating crops in the fields. Therefore, they are often hunted by farmers.
- The first Australian settlers made an omelet from emu eggs. Several people could get enough of one egg. Emu egg yolk contains a lot of fat, so cooks used to pour the eggs out of their shells, leave them to cool overnight, and collect the fat the next day before frying.
- Australians use the disrespectful expression "stupid like an emu". The birds got the name "emu" for their shrill, inviting cry "um-uu".
- 3,000 caterpillars were found in the stomach of one emu shot during a punitive expedition.
- Emu - incredible interesting bird... Many stories are told about how he behaves while searching for food. One emu drank the paint from the can, and then swallowed the can itself.
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF EMU. DESCRIPTION
Chicks: have a striped color.
Plumage: long feathers hanging separately, usually dark or gray-brown.
Wings: small, absolutely not suitable for flight. In the heat, the emu fan himself with them to cool off.
Nest and eggs: the male builds a flat nest with a diameter of 1 m and lines it with grass and branches. The female lays 7-8 large, olive-green eggs.
Legs: long and strong. Emu travels long distances at a fast pace. There are three toes on the legs.
- Emu habitat
WHERE DIVES
Emu lives in the scrub sandy deserts and steppes of Australia and the island of Tasmania.
PROTECTION AND CONSERVATION
In Australia, emu is a numerous species that is not endangered, despite the fact that its habitats are being destroyed and replaced by agricultural land. In many regions, the emu population is under constant control.
Ostrich Emu, stupid Emu. Video (00:01:36)
The Emu ostrich is a large Australian cassowary bird. Previously, the emu was classified as an ostrich, but in the 1980s the classification was revised.
The Emu ostrich resembles a cassowary a little, but does not have leathery growths on the neck and "helmet". Also, the emu has three toes on each leg, and the ostrich has two. The length of the bird is from 150 to 190 cm, and the weight ranges from 30 to 55 kg. Emus are capable of speeds up to 50 km / h. This speed is achieved thanks to the long legs that allow the birds to take steps up to 280 cm. The emu have no teeth, so they swallow glass, stones and pieces of metal to grind food in the stomach.
Tango emu / Tango emu. Video (00:01:42)
Bird Emu. Video (00:04:20)
Kharkov, zoo, ostrich Emu, purebred hens. Video (00:02:42)
The advantages of growing Emu ostriches are known: it is both tender dietary meat and practically waste-free production (you can sell everything: from claws to eggs laid by ostriches). Having raised an ostrich to one and a half years of age, you can get about forty kilograms of meat, and if you leave the female for breeding, then a year from her you can get about fifty eggs for sale. Breeding emu ostriches at home is not an easy task, but doable even for a beginner. Where to start?
Emu ostrich at home Emu ostriches at home - features of growing
It is interesting that keeping one, with the right approach, an ostrich can be cheaper than keeping an ordinary pig. We invite you to familiarize yourself with the basic requirements and rules for growing poultry.
The subtleties of breeding Emu ostriches:
- Ostrich Emu requires large space for growth and walking. It is best if such a pasture is full of growing grass and flowers.
- Most often, novice owners of Emu ostriches do not have any particular difficulties. It is only important to follow correct formation families of ostriches, for this it is important to let the birds choose their partners on their own, this is the only way to increase the egg production of ostriches. In this case, it is important to take into account the moment that for each male there must be at least two females.
- If in the natural environment ostriches begin to lay eggs from about the age of four years, then in captivity this period is halved and the Emu ostrich can begin to lay eggs as early as two years of age and continue to do so until reaching forty.
IMPORTANT! For high-quality incubation of an egg, about a month and a half should pass, and ostriches are characterized by alternate incubation of eggs: at night this task is taken over by the male, and in the daytime the nest is warmed by the female. In the event that it is planned to put a brood of ostriches on the stream, it makes sense to purchase an incubator in which the eggs will ripen, as well as a special hatcher in which the chicks will be born.
Ostrich care at home
As a rule, caring for ostrich eggs is not difficult and is almost no different from caring for the eggs of another bird. To maintain the livestock of ostriches on a small farm, up to a dozen eggs will be enough, while the rest can be used for food.
Young Emu chicks To care for young Emu ostriches, you need to create special conditions:
- For young chicks, you need to prepare a special room in which it will be warm and dry. In addition, it is important to separate the young livestock from the adults, while maintaining the mandatory air temperature at thirty degrees.
- For young ostriches, it is important to separate a large space, because they grow quite quickly, up to one centimeter per day. Over time, they will need about five square meters for one individual.
Caring for Emu ostriches at home is not at all difficult, it is enough to create conditions for them as close as possible to their natural habitat. Therefore, even a relatively small area of their closed content must be balanced with extensive grounds for walking on the street. Do not forget that in winter time Emu ostriches should be protected from excessive cooling, although due to the dense plumage it is quite difficult for them to freeze. In summer, it is preferable to keep the bird outdoors, in the sun.
So, breeding emu ostriches at home- the task is simple and almost no different from the cultivation of any other poultry.
Emu is like two goats.
At first glance, it seems that it is difficult to breed them. Of course, they require premises (in the north - capital), but after all, no one grows the rest of the living creatures under the open sky alone. In general, the keeping of an ostrich can be compared with the keeping of any other farm animals. The most unpretentious of the ostriches is the Australian emu.
Emu is the second largest bird in the world, its height reaches 170-190 cm, and its weight is 70 kg. The emu has a long neck and very long, thin legs, which allows the bird to develop high speed. The emu has no flight and tail feathers in its wings, therefore, like other ostriches, it cannot fly, but it is famous for its love of water and even knows how to swim well.
It is very difficult to distinguish a female and a male from each other - both their weight and height are almost the same (on average 55-57 kg and 155-170 cm, respectively). And only in the mating season, when the birds form pairs, the males stand out - they begin to emit loud calling calls.
Emus become sexually mature at 3 years old. Their mating season begins in the fall, at the end of September - October. Emus are from the Southern Hemisphere and are in early spring in their homeland. In January-February, the female lays eggs in a nest prepared by the male and leaves the clutch. Emu eggs are oblong, dark green in color, weighing 600-650 g (By the way, the female's egg production lasts for 20 years.) There are from 2 to 30 eggs in a clutch (in fact, the female lays one egg every three days).
Further, the father of the family takes care of the offspring. Hatching eggs lasts 53-66 days. In the first and last two weeks of this period, the male does not get up from the nest at all; during incubation, he loses up to 16 kg of his own weight. On farms, the male is replaced by an incubator. The temperature in it should be 37-38 °, air humidity - 40-70%.
Emus tolerate cold well and easily adapt to new conditions. But at the same time, it is nevertheless necessary during the period of laying eggs by the female to provide indoors optimal temperature 13-15 °. In the department for young animals, a temperature of 18-20 ° is desirable. And in the summer, it is enough to install a sun canopy for the bird.
For stall keeping, an adult emu needs 10-15 square meters (chick - about 5 square meters), for walking - 50-60 square meters per head. Since the emus are very mobile, it is necessary to fix all the poles and the fence with outside... Emus cannot fly, so a 150-180 cm high hedge will suffice. If you decide to use a net, then its cells should be so small that the bird cannot stick its head into them. And do not leave the top edges of the hedge untreated, or the bird may injure itself.
Under natural conditions, emu feeds on grass, insects, fruits and various seeds. The basis of the diet of the ostriches kept in the courtyard is compound feed. Grain mash, grass, hay, bread, vegetables, root crops, waste from the meat, dairy and fish industries are added to it. An adult ostrich eats about three kilograms of feed per day, half of which are coarse and juicy. For comparison, two adult goats consume about the same. Ostriches do not know how to chew, so it is advisable to give them chopped grass and hay, otherwise the bird's esophagus may become clogged with tangles from the stems.
Practice shows that the same compound feed is quite suitable for ostriches that are given to poultry, which is traditional for our places. For example, in the first month of raising emu chicks, you can give them compound feed for turkey poults, in the second - for guinea fowls, then - for broilers, from 4-5 months - for young egg hens, later - for laying hens. Such a menu is determined by the amount of protein contained in the specified feed and the required poultry: first, about 28%, then gradually it decreases to 17-19%. Feeding should not be overfeeding or stimulate too much weight gain. Excessive growth of the bird can cause curvature of the limbs.
N. Tkacheva
If you decide to start breeding emu, then first of all you will have to spend money on creating normal conditions for the life of the bird (buy or rent land, build or reconstruct premises, equip walks, purchase feed - all, of course, taking into account the scale of your future farm ).
You also need to decide whether you will sell eggs and poultry for breeding or would prefer to sell products (meat, fat, feathers, etc.). In the first case, your main efforts will be directed to the maintenance of the adult broodstock and the incubation of eggs, to the hatching of the young. In the second option, you will have to Special attention to devote to sales.
For normal functioning, the farm must sell its products all year round, its quality must be maintained at all times. good level... Where to start breeding ostriches? Buying eggs for further incubation is the most cheap option, but more risky due to the high mortality rate of young animals, and the timing of obtaining marketable poultry is extended. Buying ostriches is more expensive (a daily emu costs from $ 200, a one-year-old - from $ 800), but significantly reduces losses as a result of mortality and speeds up the timing of obtaining marketable poultry. Buying adult breeding ostriches is the most expensive option (the price per head starts from $ 1,500), but it makes it possible to start commercial production from next year.
Emu eggs are healthy as well as chicken eggs. They don't even differ in cooking methods. The weight of one egg is from 450 grams. up to 1800g., which is equal to about 25-40 chicken eggs. The largest egg is 18.67 cm in diameter and 2350 grams in weight. was registered in China.
The shell of an emu egg is very dense and durable, despite this it is quite easy to break. It is dark green, almost black in color, and the eggs themselves have a rich yolk and translucent white.
Eggs are not found in free sale in our country. They can only be purchased from a breeder in spring-summer period since only during this period do the emus lay eggs. In order to boil such a huge egg, it will take about 75-80 minutes.
The first mentions of emu ostriches (including eggs) appeared in the 1-2 century BC. At least they are imprinted on the grave of one Chinese emperor from the Han dynasty. Then they spread to the territory of the present Central Asia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. In the twentieth century, they appeared in the Arabian and Syrian deserts. V this moment in Ukraine and Russia, ostrich farms are very common where this bird is grown.
Some Polish restaurants make huge scrambled eggs from such eggs, which can feed about 10 people. Also, emu eggs are used for baking (mainly in industries), because they have a strong taste. It is added to salads and omelets are fried.
The shelf life of intact eggs is about 3 months, and a broken egg can be divided into portions and stored in the refrigerator for about 2-3 days.
There are other uses for emu eggs as well. Due to their similarity to porcelain, they are perfect for engraving and painting, as well as for the production of decoupage-style souvenirs.
Calorie content of emu eggs
The product contains almost 160 kcal, it is quite fatty and nutritious. This is a protein food with a low level of carbohydrates, which should not be carried away by overweight people.
Nutritional value per 100 grams:
Benefits of Emu Eggs
Composition and presence of nutrients
Emu eggs contain a huge amount nutrients, similar to substances found in chicken eggs. They are considered a dietary product because they are very low in cholesterol. It is in these eggs that the level harmful substances lower than poultry eggs. This product is hypoallergenic, rich in trace elements and vitamins.
Also, emu eggs contain polyunsaturated acids that help maintain the cardiovascular system.
Cooking use
Eggs are used in cooking for various appetizers, casseroles and baked goods.
Emu eggs make a great snack. To do this, boil the egg until tender, peel and cut into rings. Each ring should be spread with a thin layer of butter, laid out like a cake on a plate and covered with mustard and cream sauce.
A dish called "scramble" will become a decoration of each table. First you need to cut 150 g of ham into small slices and chop a bunch of green onions. Crush one and a half teaspoons of dill seeds in a mortar. Next, in a large bowl, you need to beat the emu egg and milk, with the addition of 1 teaspoon of ground paprika, then add the ham there, green onions, dill seeds and salt to taste. Coat the baking dish butter and pour the resulting mixture into it. We put in an oven heated to 160 degrees. The cooking time is approximately 15-17 minutes.
Dangerous properties of emu eggs
Emu eggs are very similar in composition to chicken eggs and are considered difficult to digest due to their high cholesterol content. In addition, excess cholesterol clogs blood vessels and therefore contributes to the appearance of wrinkles and bags under the eyes, and also leads to
Emu is a large bird that looks very much like an ostrich. For this reason, the emu used to be called the Australian ostrich and belonged to the order of Ostrich-like. However, it has now been proven that the emu is closer to the cassowary, therefore, in modern taxonomy, it is the only species in the emu family in the order of the Cassowary.
Despite its large size, the emu is still much smaller than the African ostrich, in height it reaches 150-180 cm, weighs 35-55 kg. He does not have such peculiar structural features as the African ostrich - a bladder and two-toed paws, that is, an emu in to a greater extent looks like a typical bird.
Emu head. Photo: Muhammad Mahdi Karim
The nature of the feather cover is also very different. Emu feathers are very loose, therefore they have a hair-like structure. Another distant relative of the emu, the kiwi, has such a wool-like plumage. At the same time, the emu has ostrich features: a flattened beak and well-defined ears. On the body of the emu, the feathers are very long and its body resembles a living shock of hay, on the head and neck the feathers are short and curly. The color of the plumage is black-brown, the head and neck are black, the upper part of the neck is light gray, the iris of the eyes is orange-brown. Sexual dimorphism is poorly expressed - females are slightly larger than males.
Emus live exclusively in Australia and on the island of Tasmania off its coast. These birds inhabit open and dry biotopes - shrub thickets and grassy savannas (Australian bush), can enter the outskirts of deserts, but do not penetrate into their depths. Emus are sedentary; in the western part of the continent, some of the birds make seasonal movements: in the summer to the north, in the winter to the south. Emus usually keep one by one, less often in pairs or in small groups of 3-5 individuals. Adult birds have almost no enemies, so they calmly walk in open spaces and only in case of danger break into a fast run, while they develop speeds of up to 50 km / h. The sight of the emu is well developed, so they can see a moving object from several hundred meters away and do not allow approaching large animals and people. Nevertheless, in a direct collision, the Australian ostrich is capable of breaking a dog's ribs or a man's arm with a blow with a strong leg. In a normal situation, emus are practically silent, males in the mating season make sounds that vaguely resemble a quiet whistle.
They feed on rhizomes, seeds and fruits of plants, small animals (grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, beetles, lizards, etc.). Food is pecked from the ground and plant stems. Emus tolerate drought well, but on occasion they willingly drink water from temporary puddles, and also visit shallow bodies of water. These birds love to swim and can even swim. But they, on the contrary, do not like to take dust baths.
Opening emu
In 1789, a description of the trip of Governor Philip to Botanibey appeared, from which the scientific world first learned that Australia was also inhabited by ostriches. The species called in that work the "New Holland cassowary" is now called "emu", by which the former Portuguese navigators meant one gigantic bird of Malacca. The emu looks like an ostrich in appearance, only its body is more compressed and stocky, the neck is shorter and the legs are lower, which, in general, gives a completely different impression. The beak of the emu is straight, strongly compressed from the sides, on the back with a clear keel and rounded at the end. Large nostrils covered with skin open approximately in the middle of the beak. The legs are very strong, feathered up to the heel joint and covered with strong shields below; three-toed paws; the extreme fingers are of the same length and equipped with large claws. The wings are so small that you cannot even notice them when they are pressed against the body, their plumage does not differ at all from the dorsal, so that there is no mention of the flight wings; tail feathers are also missing. The plumage covers almost the entire body, leaving only the sides of the head and throat exposed. All individual feathers are distinguished by their considerable length and small width, remarkable flexibility and softness of the trunks. The floors do not differ in color, perhaps only partly in size. Emu is inferior in size to the African ostrich, but surpasses the rhea in this respect. Its height reaches approximately 1.7 m; hunters had to kill males 2 m tall. Plumage color is uniform matte-brown, darker on the head, in the middle of the neck and back, lighter on the underside. The eyes are light brown, the beak is dark horny, the legs are light brownish. The bare parts of the face appear bluish-gray.
Ostrich Emu. Photo: Benjamint444
It is said that emus keep here in small groups of three to five birds, but never form a large herd, and that their habits and customs are exactly the same as those of ostriches. Still, I must note that those from whom this opinion proceeds could hardly compare these two birds with each other. As far as can be judged, the ostrich and emu in captivity are so significantly different from each other in their manner of behaving that the habits of free living birds, quite understandably, should differ among themselves.
Currie remarks that the emu is an excellent runner, and therefore, he gets the same great baiting that is arranged in England for hares. Kunningam adds to this news by describing the hunt itself, and says that dogs are used for it, walking on kangaroos; but dogs do not always chase birds, as they are afraid of their terrible legs. The colonists claim that the emu is able to break a man's shin or kill a predator with one blow of his strong leg; therefore, well-trained dogs throw themselves at him in front, grab him by the neck and knock him to the ground. Emu has been compared to the tough meat of cattle and has been praised for its taste, although it is a little sweet; the meat of young emu, according to the unanimous assurance of all, has a wonderful taste. Emu can be very fat; then his meat is fried mainly in order to melt lard, which, in the eyes of the hunter, serves as an excellent remedy against all diseases, especially against attacks of gout. We have little information about the breeding of free emu. Gould says that the female lays 6-7 beautiful dark green, granular eggs in the cavity.
It dug in the ground, most often in a sandy place; both birds keep constantly together, the male takes an active part in incubation. Bennett reports that a nest dug in the bushy hills always contains an odd number of eggs: 9, 11 or 13 eggs.
Emu breeding
Male and female in mating games, getting up tete-a-tete, bow their heads and shake them above the ground. Having finished with simple courtship, the male leads the female to the nest he has prepared, a hole under a bush, carelessly laid out with grass, foliage, bark, branches. The emu has several friends, all together give him 15-25 eggs. But often there is one, then there are only 7-8 eggs in the nest. He incubates them for two months and eats almost nothing. After sitting for hours 16-17, gets up to get drunk and peck some leaves and herbs on the road. While he is away, the female comes and adds another egg to the nest. In the Moscow Zoo, the male emu incubated for 52 days, did not eat anything and lost almost 8 kilograms, losing 15 percent of its weight. Not so much, though.
Emu chicks will be born weighing half a kilogram. Their backs are decorated with the same longitudinal stripes as those of juvenile rheas. The male, when incubating, is in a peaceful mood and allows him to take eggs from under him. If, of course, someone has the strength to lift or push a bulky bird from the nest. It's a different matter when a father, proud of the results of his asceticism, leads striped children somewhere where you can feed on caterpillars, locusts and other insects, in the first days they eat only this. The emu guarding his offspring is aggressive and, it happened, with one blow of a powerful leg, broke the bones of people who inadvertently met him.
It is better for strangers and unfamiliar with emu not to mess with. The inhabitants of one place in Australia, where the tame emu lived, learned this the hard way. He loved bad jokes: he would catch up with a man and rip his hat off his head. Then, pleased with the hooligan trick, he majestically and calmly retired to deal with the hated headdress without witnesses.
The emu runs as briskly as an ostrich - 50 kilometers per hour. He takes care of children, like the ostrich, but he likes to swim not in the sand, like the ostrich and the rhea, but in the water. It swims perfectly, it can swim for a long time, although it is massive. However, the cassowary, which weighs almost 30 kilograms more, also swims well and catches fish along the way.
Emu is easier than any other short-winged breeding in captivity. The pair that Bennett observed in the London Zoological Gardens bred the chicks. Since then, not only in London, but also in many other zoological gardens, the offspring have been successfully obtained. In Germany, Bodinus bred emu every year and always with more or less favorable results. Only the male incubates and, moreover, with such rare zeal that even for the entire time, for 58 days, he does not eat, at least he was never caught eating. The main color of the plumage of chicks is grayish-white; on the back run two wide, dark lobe stripes, on the sides there are also two stripes, which are separated by a narrow white line. These stripes join at the neck and end in irregular spots on the head; the other two discontinuous stripes adorn the front of the neck and chest and end in a wide stripe that runs along the thighs.
In the Berlin Zoological Garden, the female not only does not care about the chicks, but even showed such hostility towards them that they had to separate her from the cubs. On the other hand, the male bears all maternal cares with touching selflessness, bravely strikes with his well-armed legs when necessary, and, in general, while the chicks need his help, shows the most intense excitement. Chicks grow up very quickly and from early adolescence they feel disgust at the reclusive life within four walls. At first, they keep under the wings of their father, then next to him, eat greedily from the second day of their lives and develop the better, the longer they enjoy the patronage of their father. After three months, they grow to half of their present growth, and at two years they reach full development.
Australian farmers have complaints about emu: they allegedly spoil crops, trample and deplete the pasture reserved for sheep. Emus are killed by the thousands for this: in 1964, bonuses were paid for 14,500 emus killed. Unfortunately for the emus, their meat tasted like beef, and the eggs can be melted into excellent edible oil.
Soldiers of the Royal Australian Artillery under the command of a major, in alliance with local farmers, with two machine guns and ten thousand rounds of ammunition marched against the emu. They hoped to drive them to wire fences and shoot them with machine guns, as they had done earlier in the northwest of New South Wales. However, only 12 emus were killed in this war, which proves that the art of camouflage and timely retreat, the emus mastered better than the soldiers.
The fences, which did not help the soldiers in the mentioned battle to carry out the war plan, stretched for hundreds of kilometers across the territory of Western Australia alone. People drove the ostriches to the north of this state, to the barren semi-desert. But in dry years, emus leave from the waterless north to south. Wire fences should restrain their onslaught, do not let birds into sheep pastures.
Once there was a relative of the emu: he lived on the islands of King and Kangaroo a small, or black emu. It was opened in 1802. Two years later, a pair of black emus were brought to Paris to the zoo of Josephine, Napoleon's wife. The last of them died in 1822. All black emus have already been exterminated, only a few skins and skeletons are kept in some museums.
Of all the short-winged emu, the most boring. His movements, behavior, character and habits are much more monotonous than that of other relatives. And the voice of the emu is not very attractive: it can be compared to the dull noise that comes out of an empty keg when children, playing, removing the sleeve from the keg, blow right into the hole. Males and females have different voices, but this difference is so insignificant that you need to have the most delicate ear or an ear accustomed to these sounds in order to catch it. A crazy race with lightning-fast turns and strange movements, which are seen in real ostriches, is out of the question.
