Latest news with #emus
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Watch: Runaway emus found miles from home in Minnesota
July 2 (UPI) -- A pair of emus escaped from their home at a Minnesota farm during a storm and turned up several miles from home. Tom Halek said his emus, Sami and Ali, escaped from a partially-open gate on his Rush City property during weekend storms. "I figured the way they can move, who knows where they'd end up," Halek told CBS Minnesota. The emus were spotted near Rush Lake Road on Sunday before wandering miles from home and ending up in Chisago County. "Calling all Emu owners... We did make calls to Liberty Mutual Insurance, this is not their LiMu Emu. It also isn't Kevin from the popular movie, Up, we verified that by calling Doug. So if you happen to know the owner of this Emu, please have them reach out to dispatch to let us know," the Chisago County Sheriff's Office said on social media. Halek contacted the sheriff's office and learned the birds had been safely contained. "The sheriff called us back and said, 'We know where they're at.'" Halek said. "Somebody else in the area that owns emus also thought they were his, so he ran and he captured them, brought them home and he realized 'Wait a minute, these aren't mine.'" Halek said Sami and Ali are a little spooked from their time on the loose, but otherwise healthy and unharmed.
CBS News
01-07-2025
- General
- CBS News
Chisago County deputies wrangle loose emus that escaped home during weekend storms
Outside Tom Halek's Rush City, Minnesota, home, live dozens and dozens of his animal friends. "We've got goats, we've got peacocks, we've got ducks, chickens," said Halek. "I've always been an animal lover." That love expanded last winter, when Halek bought two emus: Sami and Ali, both purchased from Wisconsin over Craigslist. A few nights ago, the speedy and crafty birds escaped their pen after their gate was left partially open during weekend storms. "I figured the way they can move, who knows where they'd end up," said Halek. The following morning: an emu sighting, miles from home. It became a popular post on the Chisago County Sheriff's Office Facebook page. Halek learned he wasn't the only emu owner in the area. "The sheriff called us back and said, 'We know where they're at.'" Halek said. "Somebody else in the area that owns emus also thought they were his, so he ran and he captured them, brought them home and he realized 'Wait a minute, these aren't mine.'" Sami and Ali were soon wrangled by sheriff's deputies. They're a little spooked, but doing fine, Halek said. It's a wild tale with a happy ending. "Really happy, love them dearly," said Halek.
ABC News
10-06-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
Severe drought sees emus and other wildlife in search of water
The severe drought has seen emus and other wildlife desend on towns like Whyalla in search of food and water. Supplied: George Vlachoulis
ABC News
16-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Imported emu colony swam to the mainland now thriving with the locals
In Potato Point on the NSW south coast, a mob of emus imported as pets from Western Australia broke free and now roam the beaches and suburbia.
ABC News
16-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Shipment of emus that swam to mainland New South Wales now thriving at Potato Point
Every resident in Potato Point has a story to tell about their most unusual neighbours. The little town on the NSW south coast, population 159, is home to one of the only thriving emu colonies on the Australian east coast. Local WIRES volunteer Rachel McInnes didn't know Potato Point, 8 kilometres east of Bodalla, had emus when she moved to the area 18 years ago. "It's a joy to go out your back or front door and see a couple of emus walking down the street," she says. "It's hilarious when you look down on the beach and think: 'What's that? Is that a person? No, it's an emu.' "That's just more icing on the cake of living in such a beautiful area." A businessman shipped in a population of about a dozen emus from Western Australia 30 years ago to live on his private island — Horse Island — at the mouth of the Tuross River. What he didn't realise was that emus are proficient swimmers, and soon his imported pets had made a break for the mainland — 20 to 100 metres away, depending on the tide. "I didn't know emus could swim," Ms McInnes says. The population struggled at first. But now, with the National Parks and Wildlife Service placing fox baits throughout the national park, Potato Point and the surrounding Eurobodalla National Park have become an emu haven. "Every year we see chicks, and lots of them," Ms McInnes says. "It's a topic of conversation when the new chicks are hatched: 'How many have you seen?'" This year, one local spotted a male emu with 21 chicks. For her PhD, Western Sydney University ecological statistician Julia Ryeland researched the fluctuations in emu populations along the east coast. "There are lots of records of emus being all throughout Sydney and along the east coast," Dr Ryeland says. "However, there are only a few areas where they remain on the east coast, and Eurobodalla National Park is one of them." Dr Ryeland says emu populations along the coast have declined from historical levels because of hunting, loss of habitat, and introduced predators such as foxes. It makes the little oasis at Potato Point important for the iconic Australian species. Dr Ryeland says emus are catalysts for bush regeneration by transporting seeds that get stuck in their claws or that pass through their digestive system. "It looks like they are quite a key seed disperser among different landscapes," she says. "They are one of the few species that are completely generous. They more or less eat anything, and they can transport really large amounts of seed really quite far distances. Ms McInnes says humans and emus live together in harmony at Potato Point. "They are protected here. We give them space and they are happy to coexist," she says. Sometimes tourists will turn up and ask a local where to see the emus. But Ms McInnes says they are not tame pets. "Don't ever think you're going to get a selfie with a wild emu. They are absolutely a wild animal," she says. "When we have visitors, they are absolutely tickled to see emus. To top it off, they might see a couple of kangaroos hopping down the main street. It's very cliché, but I love that we have them here. "We have the coat of arms living in our village. How lucky are we? "It's such a privilege to have them."
