Because emus are curious, resilient, collaborative, useful, versatile, strong, feisty, progressive, efficient, silly, and Passive.
Like us.
Emus are curious.
Emus are inquisitive birds and have been known to approach humans if they see unexpected movement of a limb or piece of clothing. In the wild, they may follow and observe people. #NeverStopLearning
Emus are resilient.
There are few native natural predators of emus still alive. The emu is the only extant member of the genus Dromaius (coming from a Greek word meaning “racer”). Over time, they have developed several adaptations which help them survive, including their large size, speed, long necks, sharp beaks, coloring, and a specialized two-eyelid vision adaptation.
Emus are collaborative.
Emus are, by nature, team players. A group of emus is called a “mob”. In fact – true story – a mob of emus once defeated the Australian Army. Check it out.
Emus are useful.
Emus are farmed primarily for their meat, leather, feathers and oil, and 95% of the body can be used. As such, the emu has a prominent place in Australian Aboriginal mythology.
Emu are versatile.
They are able to swim when necessary!
Emus are strong.
They have special muscles in the back of their lower legs that allow them to reach speeds of 30 mph.
Emus are feisty.
They kick. Watch out.
Emus are progressive.
Female emus lead the mating process, and male emus tend to the nest and the chicks.
Emus are efficient.
Emus absorb solar radiation through the black tips of their feathers, and their inner plumage insulates their skin. This prevents the birds from overheating, allowing them to be active during the heat of the day. They also swallow small stones to assist in the grinding up and digestion of plant material.
Emus are silly.
I mean… c’mon… how adorable is this?
Emus are Passive.
Kinda.
Well, they get the principles anyway.
Let’s take breathing, for example. Cool air gets warmer as it passes through a multifolded nasal cavity and into their lungs, extracting heat from the nasal region… not unlike an HRV. On exhalation, the emu’s cold nasal turbinates condense moisture back out of the air and absorb it for reuse. Emus have great homeothermic ability, and can maintain this status from −5 to 45 °C (23 to 113 °F). Wait! There’s more. They have two eyelids, one specifically for keeping out dust. They can store energy for long periods of time, sometimes not eating for weeks.
There you go. Now you know way too much about Emus. Welcome to the mob.