A flightless bird found only in Australia, the country’s tallest native bird and the third-tallest living bird after the two ostriches. It can sprint at 48 km/h and go for weeks without eating.
Quick answers
What is it?Bird
Carnivore?Omnivore
Dangerous?Can be
Emus have legs strong enough to tear down metal fencing and defend their young fiercely, but there are only two documented cases of emus attacking people.
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Daytime
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?Yes
Emus are farmed for meat, oil and leather in Australia, North America, Peru and China. Commercial farming began around 1970.
At a glance
Found inAustralia
HabitatGrassland, Scrub, Forest, Desert
ColoursBrown, Grey
SizeLarge
HeightUp to 1.9 m
Weight36–40 kg
Legs2
Covered inFeathers
Lives ingroups
Lives for10–20 years
Can swim
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Most of mainland Australia. The Tasmanian, Kangaroo Island and King Island forms died out after European settlement.
- What it eats
- Omnivore: a wide variety of plants and insects.
Did you know
Australia declared war on them in 1932 and the emus won.
The male incubates the eggs for about eight weeks, hardly eating or drinking, and raises the chicks.
Often confused with
- Ostrich
The African ostrich is taller and heavier. The emu is the third-tallest living bird, after the two ostrich species.
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