How Tame/Smart Is Your Emu?

[briefvisit]

Many moons ago, I outlined a metric of tameness. It is from one to one hundred.

And bear in mind I am tame-wild emu guy, so I haven't ever had the sort of contact with emus that you guys have.

If 'tameness one': the bird is wild, and will bolt when it sees you -- I've seen a mob run a half a mile without slowing down.

If 'tameness twenty': the bird is less spooked by you being in sight. Will stand and watch from the gum trees around the house-clearing.

If 'tameness fifty': then the bird is moving towards you -- even if that just means smooching around the house-clearing.

And the 'acculturation' of prospective consorts -- the males that the tame-wild females have brought to the house-clearing over the decade of observations -- is just fine to watch and study. (Without a doubt, emu language is sophisticated enough for the tame-wild female to instruct the newly-arrived male -- some of whom have perhaps never seen a human on foot.)

And as tameness gets up to around eighty? Eric's chicks were tamed to different extents. 'Uno Chick,' the only ever clutch of one, whom I started taming when she was very young, became so tame she'd practically climb into my lap to get sultanas -- but still wild, not a pet.

Supreme Emu, Lake Muir, West Australia

 

[matt swenson]

Is this dog like ?

 

[FEAREDALPHA]

Yeah I can get something this weekend when it warms up.

Ok that would be great!

 

[FEAREDALPHA]

Is this dog like ?

Thats awesome!

 

[FishMtFarm]

My boy, Gus getting some pettings, and his girl Vanessa, posing for her close up!

 

[507382]

Strider is the most tame of my three emu. Here's a pic I took, you can see my arm is around him and he will just come up to me and stand there and I can pet him for minutes at a time before he gets bored. All of the emu will come up to me when I'm doing husbandry in the barn and they all love to gather around me for love but only Strider would really enjoy being petted I think. The other two are like mom, stop (most of the time.)

 

[FishMtFarm]

Yep, your Strider is just like my Gus. He loves his mommy.

 

[briefvisit]

That last photo is the best -- the highest resolution -- photo of an emu I've seen. Sigh: my experience just doesn't include treats like this.

 

[Emugal31]

Hey everyone! I just wanted to start a thread to collect pictures and videos of everyone's "dog-like" Emus!

 

[Emugal31]

This is my emu Merle! He’s very cuddly and my favorite thing ever! Still no idea if he’s a boy or girl lol. I saved him when he was very young from a leg injury that needed surgery! Now Emus are my all time favorite animal.