Wars are typically fought between nations, such as World War I, World War II, the recent war between Russia and Ukraine, and so on. What if birds became our enemy instead of other nations? Imagine a nation announcing a war against birds. Unbelievable right? Well, it was a real event when Australia declared war against 20,000 emu birds in 1932, known as the Great Emu War.
Back in the 1930s, Australia was going through an economic depression. The soldiers who returned from World War I were given farmland to cultivate but a new challenge emerged. Around 20,000 emus migrated from inland to the agricultural lands of Western Australian farmers and started to destroy their crops. However, the Australian government in desperation took an unusual step to deploy the military to eliminate the birds and initiate the Great Emu War.
The Hidden Story of the Great Emu War
Emus are common birds in Australia. Although they are flightless they are huge and incredibly fast runners with a speed of around 50 km/h. How these birds can be the reason for the Great Emu War? Well, behind the initiation of the war, there are multiple reasons.
In 1932, Australia was suffering Great Depression as well as drought. Many groups of emus, driven by drought, started to migrate to the west coast of Australia in search of food and water. During this period, the Australian veteran were struggling to maintain their livelihoods through agriculture and also suffering from post-war economic recession.
Well, around 20,000 emus in a group migrate into the towns of Walgoolan and Chandler. The emus entered the farmlands of the Western farmers and started to consume crops and destroy the fences. When the farmers failed to control the situation they sought help from the Australian government.
Maybe the government was significantly impacted by the Great Depression or it was political misjudgment that the government took an unmeasured step to deploy military forces to kill the emu birds. Three members of the Royal Australian Artillery, Maj. Gwynydd Purves Wynne-Aubrey Meredith in command, Sgt. S. McMurray and Gunner J. O’Halloran, arrived at the event with Lewis machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition, to eliminate the emus. The Great Emu War is often remembered as a hilarious event but this war highlighted the government’s failure to balance agriculture and wildlife conservation.
Who won the Great Emu War?
Well, you might be thinking that the Australian army armed with machine guns might kill the 20,000 emus with just a gunshot and gain a victory. But you might be shocked that instead of machine guns and military power, the Australian government lost the battle against these flightless birds and the emus won the Great Emu War.
The government initially thought it might be easier to shoot down the emus with weapons for a quick resolution of the farmer’s problem. But the government misunderstood the power of emus. These birds have a strong survival instinct and have a speed of around 50 km/h that can help them dodge every bullet by scattering in unpredictable patterns.
On November 2, when this three-soldier team was employed against a group of 50 emus and the soldiers started to open fire on the emus, the birds scattered in different directions, creating a difficult condition for the soldiers to make the right aim.
When this tactic failed, two days later, on November 4, the soldiers laid in an ambush and waited until thousands of emus gathered around the water resource. Although 30 emus were killed when the guns jammed after a few rounds, the emus quickly scattered.
However, different tactics and tricks were adopted by the soldiers as well as the farmers, but the speed of emus always failed every tactic. After two months of the operations, only 1000 emus were reported to be killed among the 20,000 emus.
In the end, emu won the war. They not only survive the battle but proven that nature can sometimes outsmart human strategy and human power. This brings unexpected results and this event remains a hilarious war in history.
Behaviour and Biology of Emu Birds
Emus are the second largest birds in the world and the native birds to Australia. Emus have been considered the most resilient bird that can overcome any critical and challenging situation. One of their ability is, during danger, they used to scatter in zigzag directions to create confusion and flee from the danger situations as they did during the Great Emu War.
However, there have been limited studies regarding the behaviour of emus. However, from these limited studies emus behavior has been divided into six categories. The six categories are – inactive, ingestive, grooming, locomotion, aggression and posture change.
However, physically the birds are the largest creatures in Australia. They are 1.8 meters tall and weigh around 55 kg. They have long legs and long necks that help them to have a fast speed. Because of this reason, the military soldiers struggled to chase them and set the right aim to shoot down the emus and were badly defeated.
How did Australia overcome the challenge?
When the Australian government explored that their decision to deploy the military to eliminate the emus was not feasible they tried another approach. They tried to stop emus from entering the farmland by creating strong fences. However, this approach also failed as they emus can find their way to breach the fences to find food.
Then another approach was taken by the government by empowering the farmers to adopt some advanced land management practices. Moreover, the farmers were supported by the government through subsidies and loans so that they could overcome the economic strains.
However, on a long-term basis, the government take more approaches besides land management practices. The environmental management practices and the strategies to create a balance between wildlife and agriculture have helped the country to overcome the impact of the Great Emu War as well as the economic recession after World War I.
Current Wildlife Condition of Australia
Under the national environmental law of Australia, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC), the movements of different species of animals including emu and plants have been controlled. Australia has a history of the Great Depression and economic strains; however, with effective strategies and significant environmental moves, the country has protected between 200,000 to 300,000 species in its wildlife.
However, currently between 625,000 to 725,000 wild emus have been protected under the EPBC Act in Australia. Wild emus are only found in Australia. However, in other countries like New Zealand and so on, emus are being farmed for their low-fat meat and oil. These are used in producing skincare products.
Despite being the home for emus, Australia is also a native land for kangaroos, koalas and other animals. However, currently, the wildlife of Australia is suffering from challenges of habitat loss and climate change. Urban expansion, deforestation and agriculture expansion have led the reason of habitat loss for many species. However, the Australian government should address these rising issues faster to avoid potential consequences similar to the unforeseen challenges during the Great Emu War.
FAQ
What was the Great Emu War and why did it happen?
The Great Emu War was a real event when Australia declared war against 20,000 emu birds in 1932. During the 1930s, Australia was going through an economic depression. The soldiers who returned from World War I were given farmland to cultivate but a new challenge emerged. Around 20,000 emus migrated from inland to the agricultural lands of Western Australian farmers and started to destroy their crops. The Australian government in desperation took an unusual step to deploy the military to eliminate the birds.
How did emus impact Australian farmers during the 1930s?
Around 20,000 emus in a group migrated into the towns of Walgoolan and Chandler. The emus entered the farmlands of the Western farmers and started to consume crops and destroy the fences. When the farmers failed to control the situation, they sought help from the Australian government.
Why did the Australian government deploy military forces to fight emus?
The government initially thought it might be easier to shoot down the emus with weapons for a quick resolution of the farmer’s problem. However, the government misunderstood the power of emus. These birds have a strong survival instinct and have a speed of around 50 km/h that can help them dodge every bullet by scattering in unpredictable patterns.
What made the emus so difficult to defeat during the Great Emu War?
Emus have a strong survival instinct and a speed of around 50 km/h that can help them dodge every bullet by scattering in unpredictable patterns. The soldiers’ tactic failed as the emus scattered in different directions, creating a difficult condition for the soldiers to make the right aim.
How did the Australian military attempt to control the emu population?
Three members of the Royal Australian Artillery, Maj. Gwynydd Purves Wynne-Aubrey Meredith in command, Sgt. S. McMurray, and Gunner J. O’Halloran, arrived at the event with Lewis machine guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition, to eliminate the emus. The soldiers attempted various tactics, including laying in ambush, but the emus’ speed and unpredictable movements thwarted every effort.
Who won the Great Emu War, and how did they succeed?
The emus won the Great Emu War. Instead of machine guns and military power, the emus survived the battle and outsmarted human strategy and power. After two months of operations, only 1000 emus were reported to be killed among the 20,000 emus, which was a small number given the military’s efforts.
What are some key characteristics of emu behavior and biology?
Emus are the second largest birds in the world and native to Australia. They are 1.8 meters tall, weigh around 55 kg, and have long legs and long necks that help them run fast. They can reach speeds of 50 km/h and have a survival instinct to scatter in zigzag directions to create confusion and flee from danger.
How did Australia eventually address the challenge posed by emus?
After recognizing the failure of military intervention, the Australian government tried to stop emus from entering the farmland by creating strong fences. This approach also failed as the emus breached the fences. The government then empowered farmers to adopt advanced land management practices and supported them through subsidies and loans. Additionally, environmental management strategies helped the country balance wildlife and agriculture.
