Emus – Friend or Foe?
Kate Buning and her dog were walking on the Pere Marquette Rail Trail in North Bradley, MI when a pair of emus suddenly appeared nearby. She said walking there is something she does every day. But on Monday, things were different. Buning said she’s seen eagles, foxes, coyotes, and bear tracks on the trail. Coming face to face with a pair of emus was a first. Buning snapped a photo of the flightless Australian birds before they started walking toward her. She said the emus became hostile and started to attack. “It was terrifying. I literally was thinking ‘Really? Am I going to die? This is the way I’m going to die, being assaulted by emu.’” Buning said she believes the emus were after her dog. She said they followed her for about a half mile along the trail. “Kind of like a bear technique, I was like you know, make yourself big, throw stones at it, I guess. Because they just wouldn’t stop coming at us. And I called 911, I was really frantic. And I ended up being able to reach the road and they quit following me,” she said.
Buning snapped a photo of the flightless Australian birds before they started walking toward her. “I was terrified.” She said the emus followed as she retreated and became more aggressive, chasing her for about a half a mile. “There was no physical contact between the caller and the emus, so neither the caller or the emus were injured.” Sheriff Greene said an animal control deputy searched the area, but was unable to locate the emus. The big mystery is where the emus (natives of Australia) came from and how they got to a park in central Michigan. “I enjoy walking my dog. But I definitely will be taking my bear spray with me at all times,” Buning said.
Meanwhile in Australia…A pair of celebrity emus that vanished after being banned from an outback pub for bad behavior have been rediscovered — and they have multiplied. Now The pair have been spotted with a brood of four chicks. “Yaraka” is a small red-dirt town with a population of about 20, two-and-a-half hours south of Longreach in Queensland. The Yaraka Hotel was forced to barricade the pub entrance in order to keep Kevin and Carol (the emus) out after they developed a taste for tap-room hospitality. The emus had been targeting tourists and pinching food, drinks and car keys, and leaving behind a general trail of devastation. But now they’re back.
Evidence of Kevin or Carol’s wake of destruction could be found on sidewalks across Yaraka, with locals often having to leap over huge splats of emu poo or risk losing a shoe. “I had to start buying them cartons of beers and getting takeaways for them,” Ms Byrne jokes. “We handled it. The birds used to try and get up the stairs and stuff, but they did put a chain across there to stop them. “It doesn’t stop all the people from coming to see them though.” And then, they disappeared. “But I have done some investigating, and I do know that they are still local,” Ms Byrne says. “And one of them has four baby chicks.” Kevin and Carol the Yaraka emus are now featured on a range of tourism merchandise including T-shirts, post cards and work and business shirts.
Dean Wade, executive chef at the Old Bell Hotel, says he ran after two people after the vehicle they were traveling in collided with the front of the building in Malmesbury at lunchtime on Monday. Mr Wade said he pursued the inebriated pair for around fifteen minutes through the market town. The chase came to an end when one made a last-ditch bid to escape by running into a field. It was at the border of the Malmesbury Animal Sanctuary, which hosts a range of exotic animals. One of the drunks from the crashed truck scared a female Emu guarding her chicks. “The emus started pecking away at him, which he didn’t take to. Then he ran off.” “About 20 minutes later the police helicopter was out, and they picked him up.” Wiltshire Police said that the two people in the car were detained following an extensive search of the area. One was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and other offences. No Emus were injured or insulted in the making of this story.
Emusing Stories
I was at WalMart to buy bird seed and with a straight face I heard a customer ask:
“How long does it take for the birds to grow up, once I plant these seeds?”
If birds that fly over the sea are called seagulls, what do you call birds that fly over Puget Sound?
Bagels.
Blonde and Brunette are walking on the road. The Brunette says “Look, a dead bird.”
The blonde looks up in the sky, “WHERE,!WHERE?”
What do politicians, drug addicts and birds have in common?
They all have friends in high places.
May 4th Birthdays
1992 – Grace Phipps, 1988 – Adele, 1956 – Sharon Jones, 1929 – Audrey Hepburn
2000 – Alex Lawther, 1959 – Randy Travis, 1978 – James Harrison , 1990 – Rory McIlroy