Dec 23/99
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Emu on the Loose in Clarendon StationText & photos by David Brison
Oskar Graf
of Clarendon Station had heard that an Emu has wandered from its home
just north of Mississippi Station on Highway 509 but he was still
surprised when the animal showed up in his yard on Friday (Dec. 3, 99).
There had been no reported sightings of the animal in transit -- a
distance of around 12 kilometres.
The Emu
is a large, flightless, native Australian bird in the same family as
the African ostrich and the South American rhea. Emus grow to around
two metres tall and weigh up to 50 kilograms. Emu farmers are promoting
a variety of products -- the meat, oil (which is used to treat burns),
and leather from the skin. Oskar and Claudia Graf had
encountered Emus when they camped in the north of Australia several
years ago. "Four Emus hung around our camp site. They wanted to be fed
and would surround our car looking for food. They were somewhat
confrontational and were not happy until they were fed," Oskar said. At
their home in Clarendon Station (the site of the Blue Skies folk
festival), the large bird paced around the house and occasionally
peered in the windows. He made a deep bass-like sound that could be
clearly heard inside of the house.
The owners of the large bird finally came and picked it up (they lifted
it up from behind and put it in a truck) on Saturday afternoon and took
it to its new home in Maberly.
