Emu

Common Predators Cats, wedge tail eagle and people.

What is an Emu?

The Emu is Australia's largest native bird, and the second largest bird in the world. The Ostrich is the largest bird in the world, inhabiting Africa and parts of Asia. The word Emu comes from the Portuguese word ‘ema' which means large bird. The Emu grows to be about 185 centimetres (6 feet) tall and weighs 65 kilograms (140 pounds). This is bigger than many adult humans!

The Emu belongs to a group of flightless running birds with flat breastbones known as ratites. Ratites are the oldest of modern bird families and whilst they do have wings, they are not used for flying. Emu wings are about the size of a hand and are useful in hot weather helping the bird to cool itself. What the Emu lacks in flying it certainly makes up for in running. The Emu's powerful legs enable it to run impressively fast, up to 50 kilometres per hour (kph). Emus are also skilled swimmers – in fact they love to play in water or mud.

Adult Emus are covered with shaggy grey-brown feathers which are primitive and look like a form of coarse hair. The feathers are important in enabling emus to cope with extreme changes in weather. Their neck and head is largely naked and bluish-black and their beaks are wide and soft for grazing grasses and herbs and browsing in bushes. Emus have long and powerful legs and each foot has three forward facing toes and no hind toe.

To protect themselves from predators at close quarters, the Emus main defence is a swift kick or two using their powerful legs. When being chased by predators from the sky, for example the wedge tailed eagle, the Emu will run in a zig zag pattern. If they are being chased by cats (which can run at close to double their speed) they employ a clever manoeuvre utilising their wings. The emu, running along at top speed, will raise one of its little stubby wings towards the sky and point the other towards the earth. This causes the emu swivel around almost 180 degrees, still at top speed, and it takes off in a different direction. A cat can't turn this quickly and its momentum will keep it going for almost 30 metres, by which time the emu is far away. The emu can exhaust its predator before the predator can catch up with it.

The Emu's calls consist of booming, drumming and grunting. Although Emus are not very social, they have a curious and docile nature. You may remember seeing the Emu in company with the Kangaroo on the Australian Coat of Arms.

Where Does an Emu Live?

The Emu is found only in Australia. It lives throughout most of the continent, ranging from coastal regions to high in the Snowy Mountains to the dry plains at Australia's centre. They are highly nomadic, moving within their range according to climatic conditions. If sufficient food and water are present, the birds will stay in one area. Where these resources are more variable, Emus move as needed to find more food and shelter. Emus can move hundreds of kilometres at a rate of 15-25 kilometres per day.

What Does an Emu Eat?

Emus eat a simple diet of fruits, seeds, growing shoots of plants and insects. They swallow small stones (called gastroliths or gizzard stones) which stay in the gizzard and help grind up food. They require a large amount of water, drinking 9-18 litres daily.

Emu's Family Life

Emus generally find partners in summer (December – January) and breed during the winter months (May – August).

The nest consists of a platform of grass on the ground about 10 centimetres thick and 1-2 metres in diameter. A clutch of 5-15 eggs are laid over a period of 2-4 days. Whilst the female dominates the male during pair formation, once incubation begins the male becomes aggressive to other Emus including his mate. The female then leaves, after which she shows no more interest in her eggs or partner. She may join a group of non-breeding birds or find another mate and lay again. Meanwhile, the male Emu incubates the eggs for a period of 7-8 weeks, without drinking, feeding, defecating or leaving the nest for any other reason. The newly hatched chicks are cream-coloured with dark brown stripes. They are cared for by the male for a further 4-6 months. Emus are fully grown at one year and may breed at 20 months. Emu's have a life span of 10-20 years.

Emu farming has been tried for several decades and yields low fat gourmet meat, leather, emu eggs for carvings and oil. Emu oil is used in cosmetics and in the treatment of muscle and joint pains such as arthritis.

Today Emus are absent from heavily populated regions, however despite this loss, Emu numbers may have increased since European settlement. The provision of water for domestic stock, together with the Emus ability to reproduce rapidly, has favoured its survival.

Want to Know More?

www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au (click on Australian plants and animals / native animal fact sheets / emu)

www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum (click on animals / emu chicks emerge)