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Emus
Large, flightless birds of Australia: their appearance, habitat, facts, and myths.
415 Questions
Emus belong to the group of flightless birds known as ratites. They are of the order Casuariiformes, and therefore of the family Casuariidae.
Why are King Island emus extinct?
The King Island emu, like the Tasmanian emu and Kangaroo Island emu, is extinct largely as a result of being hunted and eaten by whalers and sealers on Australia's southern coast. These birds were easy prey and had little means of defence, which resulted in their extinction after only a short time of contact with Europeans.
Probably the most unusual habit an emu has is its curiosity. Always on the search for something interesting to eat, and in need of aids to its digestion, the emu will ingest all sorts of unusual objects besides the usual pebbles. Emu stomachs have been found to contain nails and metal. Aborigines found they just had to lie in long grass and wave something unusual and colourful above the grass to attract a curious emu.
Do you have to turn the emu egg?
Not if you want it cooked sunny side up! Although as an omelete, I usually turn them.
Emus are both scavengers and predators.
Emus are omnivores, and they will eat anything that is remotely edible, including some things which are not. They are very curious birds that will try almost anything, using their large beaks to peck at and pick up food.
Commonly, they eat insects, caterpillars, grubs and other invertebrates; seeds, nuts, flowers, fruits, young leaves and other plant parts; lizards, other small animals, eggs and even animal droppings. They do not eat dry grasses or older leaves, even if that's all that is available to them. They are more likely to move on to other food sources.
Emus are native to the continent of Australia.
Emus occur in all Australian states except Tasmania. They can be found almost anywhere in the country except within urban areas, although they can be found on the outskirts of these areas.
Emus range from coastal areas, where they are becoming increasingly rarer due to developments and roads, to the sub-Alpine regions. Therefore, they can take a range of temperatures from cool-temperate to hot-temperate.
They are most common in New South Wales, in open scrubland and grasslands. They are also found in areas where agriculture has overtaken the natural habitat, particularly if there is a ready water source. They may also be found on the edge of wetland areas, but not within the wetlands.
They are not found in open, sandy desert areas of Australia's central west, due to lack of shelter and the insufficient food source for such a large bird. They are notfound in rainforest regions or closed forest. Unlike many of Australia's native creatures, the emu does need a ready supply of water, so emus are not found in the desert.
Emus used to be found in Tasmania, but European settlement resulted in their extinction there. Two dwarf species of emu inhabited Kangaroo Island (off the South Australian coast) and King Island (in Bass Strait) but they also became extinct, mostly due to being hunted by whalers and sailors.
Due to overseas farming of emus, this bird can also be found now in the wild in some areas of North America and even India, but it is not native to these areas.
What are the differences between a kangaroo and an emu?
There are a great many differences between a kangaroo and an emu.
To begin with, the kangaroo is a marsupial mammal while the emu is a bird. This means the kangaroo gives birth to live young which continue their development in the pouch, whilst an emu lays eggs which hatch. Being mammals, kangaroos have a body covering of fur, while emus have a body covering of feathers, being birds.
Kangaroo young are known as joeys, and they are reared by the mother kangaroo. The father takes no part in rearing the young. With emu young, which are called chicks, the father emu is the one who incubates and raises them.
Kangaroos can hop great distances and at high speeds, but they cannot move their hind legs independently. Emus cannot hop, but their primary means of locomotion is to walk or run, moving their legs independently.
There are over 60 species of kangaroos, and most of them are herbivores, with just a few of the smaller species being omnivores. There is now just one species of emu (there used to be three), and they are omnivores, feeding on anything that piques their interest.
Emus have beaks, and must swallow their food whole. Sometimes they also swallow stones to help with their digestion. Kangaroos, on the other hand, have teeth, which are used to chew and grind the food for swallowing. Kangaroos are grazing animals, unlike emus, and they will laze under trees, chewing their cud.
Does an emu run backwards when they are frightened?
It is believed that emus cannot walk backwards, as no evidence exists to the contrary. It is thought that the joints in their knees make it impossible for them to walk backwards.
Like most animals, emus communicate via sounds. The sound made by an emu can best be described as a deep-throated "drumming". They are able to fill their throat pouches with air, generating a drumming sound that can be heard hundreds of metres away.
Emus average between 1.5 and 1.8 metres tall, and some have been recorded as reaching 2 m tall. They tend to average 1.3m to 1.5m at the shoulder.
An adult emu weighs between 30 and 45 kilograms (66 - 99 pounds), with the female usually slightly heavier than the male.
Although there used to be dwarf emus on southern islands (which became extinct due to them being hunted by sealers and whalers), there is now only one species of emu.
People do not poach emus. Emus are farmed in many places, so they are readily available.
No animals are producers. A producer produces food from light energy - only plants and some protists can do this.
What is the female emu's role in looking after the young?
Female emus have no part in looking after the chicks. They only lay the eggs. The male builds the nest, incubates the eggs and raises the chicks.
What does an emu eat where does an emu live the largest emu recorded and the smallest emu recorded?
Emus are only found in Australia, and their preferred habitat is open bushland or grassed plains.
Emus are omnivores, and they will eat anything that is remotely edible. Commonly, they eat insects, caterpillars, grubs and other invertebrates; seeds, nuts, flowers, fruits, young leaves and other plant parts; lizards, other small animals and even animal droppings. They do not eat dry grasses or older leaves, even if that's all that is available to them. They are more likely to move on to other food sources. Emus also swallow quite large stones and charcoal to help them digest their food.
Emus grow to between 1.6 metres and 2 metres high, on average. They weigh between 30 and 45 kilograms, with the female usually slightly heavier than the male.
Emus are extremely curious creatures. They are not at all shy (though they may initially be wary of people). Their tendency towards curiosity has been misinterpreted as aggression. Although they're not at all aggressive, their curiosity causes them to peck at anything that piques their interest, and sometimes people have interpreted this as an attack.
The male emu is the one who incubates the eggs. For the entire time he is sitting on the eggs that (usually) several females have laid, he does not eat or drink, but just stands several times a day to turn the eggs. That is the only movement he makes until the chicks have hatched. He is also the one who raises the chicks.
How do emu mate and will emu mate whit human?
emus will not mate with humans they can only mate with their own kind
No. Emus' eggs are dark green in colour. They have different shades of green underneath the outer surface, but they are not blue.
