Category Archives: Emus (the bird)

An alert EMUTalk reader sent me a link to this important emu article, “Keepers baffled as emu stolen from Australian park,” which appeared in the Bangkok Post.  Basically, someone broke into a little zoo and took an emu, which I think is sort of like breaking into a Michigan zoo and taking a raccoon.

“It’s unbelievable,” [park curator Chad ]Staples told national broadcaster ABC.

“I understand to a degree when you’re talking about an animal that has significant monetary value, but an emu?”

A loyal reader sent me this fairly pathetic Emu-oriented article, “Man headed to trial in emu killing” from the South Bend Tribune. To quote:

A New Carlisle man testified Tuesday that he and a friend went to a Buchanan-area farm in late October to ride an emu after a night of drinking. Jack Keldsen went on to testify that his friend, Thomas Clark, killed the emu with a baseball bat and the two dumped the dead bird on a friend’s doorstep as a prank.

Keldsen was on the witness stand Tuesday during a preliminary hearing for Clark. Clark is charged with killing and/or torturing an animal and larceny over $200 and under $1,000. Keldsen pleaded guilty in March to attempted killing and/or torturing an animal and agreed to testify against Clark.

The whole thing kind of goes downhill from there. Ick.

From Nature comes “Ostrich penis clears up evolutionary mystery.” To quote:

A long-running question about how the largest species of birds achieve erect penises seems to have been settled. In a study published this week in theJournal of Zoology¹, researchers report that male ostriches and emus enlarge their penises using a burst of lymphatic fluid rather than a blood vascular system like that found in reptiles and mammals.

The finding, based on dissections, matches what is known about other species of birds — only 3% of which have penises — and could have important implications for the understanding of the shared, and divergent, evolutionary heritage of birds and reptiles.

I guess something to share with others at the Holiday cocktail parties.  And yet another reason why we should be the emus and not the eagles.

I’m procrastinating a bit on a soggy Saturday morning, so I thought I’d see what’s new in emu news:

• “Trestle-trotting emu hit by car on US 2″ is a fairly familiar story about an escaped emu who found his (I presume, since it was named “Curious George”) onto a freeway. Though sadly, the emu didn’t make it. Interestingly though, it sounds like the emu was struck by one car, maybe have been struck by others, and he managed to injure a state patrol officer before going down. Again, evidence that emus are tough.
• “Chehaw asks public to name new emus” is about a zoo/animal park of some sort in southwest Georgia that is having a contest about naming its new emus.  I’m going to suggest “Ypsilanti” and “Huron.”
• “Emu farms begin mushrooming in state” is about emu farming in India. Huh. Well, maybe tandoori emu would be tasty….