A wayward emu is on the loose in Harrison County after spooking a rancher’s livestock for two weeks. Brad Martin said his son and nephew were heading to the family fishing hole on a summer afternoon when they spotted the unwelcome guest.
“They came running up to the house, yelling, ‘Daddy, there’s a prehistoric animal at the pond!’ ” Martin said.
When Martin investigated, he found an emu: a shaggy, flightless bird of Australian origin. Emus had been the objects of a farming fad that faded in the 1990s. The birds are none too bright, he added.
“It was real gentle, just dumb as a rock, though,” he said. “You wouldn’t believe how dumb they are. The gate was open, and he’d just run back and forth. The dogs would get after him, and he wouldn’t take off down the pasture to get away from them. He’d jump up and down and do all kinds of crazy stuff.”
Martin could not find the owner. He thought about giving away the emu, but he didn’t have a trailer to transport it, and even if he did, he said he wouldn’t have known how to load the seven-foot-tall bird.
Meanwhile, the emu was “rampaging” on his property. “It wasn’t afraid of nothing,” Martin said. “It was just scaring the horses and the cows and dogs to death because they’re not used to nothing like that. It would get out there beside the fence and run up and down the fence. The cows wouldn’t eat, the horses wouldn’t eat, the dogs kept barking, and finally we let the gate open and let it go.”
Martin shooed the emu away from his property on Dehart Road, east of Diana. If any neighbors come across the wandering bird, they may report it to their county sheriff.
Kenneth “Al” Howe, the president of the Texas Emu Association, was pretty miffed when he heard that Martin had turned out the emu. He said Martin should have alerted the emu association or animal control authorities to remove the bird. He said when the market for emu meat failed to materialize in the ’90s, many speculators around East Texas and elsewhere released their flocks. Some are still laying eggs in the wild.
“Most that haven’t been hit by cars or killed by predators are pretty well hidden,” said Howe, who lives in Central Texas. “A lot of people who have big farms know they’ve got them, but they don’t bother them.”
An emu processing plant once operated in Longview but closed in the late 1990s. Emu oil is still used in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products, and Howe predicts that demand will increase in the next couple of years.
In Diana, Martin said the emu had his Red Brangus cows scattering in every direction.
“Talk about fast, when it decides to go it’s going,” Martin said. “It was a pretty wild little old experience.”
The rancher figures he hasn’t seen the last of the errant emu. “I’m sure it’s around here somewhere,” he said. “I bet it ain’t gone too far down the line.”
AN UPDATE
The day after the story about the emu appeared in the local newspaper, a Diana woman named Anita Davis called in. She thinks it’s her bird. His name is Bud. He’s 16 years old, and he’s been on his own for quite some time.
“Everybody knew my emu had gotten out, but it’s been out for six months and I just assumed it was dead,” she said.
If this emu is indeed Bud, he hasn’t wandered far in the past half-year. The Martin place is less than a mile from Davis’s spread.
“I just really feel like this is my emu,” she said.
According to Davis, Martin’s description of Bud — gentle but dumb as rocks — was pretty accurate. “He’s tame,” she said. “He was a pet when I had him, but he got out through the gate, and we couldn’t catch him.”
Davis and her husband have one emu left, Bud’s father. At one time, the Davises owned 101 emus, but they gave away almost all of the others when a market for emu meat didn’t materialize.
While some emu enthusiasts swear by the birds’ lean flesh, Davis said she doesn’t partake. “If I was starving I could probably have eaten it, but I can’t eat something I’ve given a name to,” she said.
If anybody finds Bud, Davis requests that they give her a call. Don’t try to catch him, she added.
“The males are very friendly, and that’s why they can pet him,” she said. However, “you have to know how to handle an emu or they can get hurt really bad.”
Since the newspaper story came out, Davis said her husband has heard from other neighbors who have seen Bud. “He may not want to come home,” she joked. “It sounds like he’s having a good time.”
2,904 responses to “Emu on the run”
Great information. Lucky me I recently found your site by accident (stumbleupon). I have saved as a favorite for later!
Another issue is that video games usually are serious anyway with the primary focus on understanding rather than amusement. Although, it comes with an entertainment element to keep your kids engaged, just about every game is usually designed to improve a specific expertise or programs, such as mathmatical or technology. Thanks for your publication.
I blog quite often and I seriously appreciate your content. This great article has really peaked my interest. I’m going to book mark your blog and keep checking for new information about once per week. I subscribed to your Feed too.
Good post. I learn something new and challenging on sites I stumbleupon every day. It’s always useful to read content from other authors and use something from other websites.
An intriguing discussion is definitely worth comment. I think that you should write more about this subject matter, it might not be a taboo matter but typically people don’t discuss such topics. To the next! Cheers!
You’re so awesome! I don’t suppose I have read anything like that before. So great to discover someone with a few genuine thoughts on this topic. Seriously.. many thanks for starting this up. This website is something that is required on the web, someone with some originality.
Having read this I believed it was really informative. I appreciate you taking the time and energy to put this informative article together. I once again find myself personally spending way too much time both reading and posting comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile!
Everything is very open with a clear description of the issues. It was truly informative. Your website is extremely helpful. Many thanks for sharing.
Thanks for your article. I would also love to say that the health insurance broker also works well with the benefit of the coordinators of your group insurance plan. The health broker is given a listing of benefits desired by someone or a group coordinator. What a broker may is hunt for individuals as well as coordinators which best go with those needs. Then he provides his referrals and if each party agree, the particular broker formulates a legal contract between the 2 parties.
F*ckin? remarkable things here. I?m very happy to peer your article. Thank you so much and i am taking a look ahead to touch you. Will you please drop me a e-mail?
Howdy! I’m at work surfing around your blog from my new iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the excellent work!
Yet another issue is that video games are generally serious in nature with the key focus on knowing things rather than leisure. Although, there’s an entertainment aspect to keep the kids engaged, each one game is normally designed to improve a specific set of skills or curriculum, such as math concepts or science. Thanks for your post.
certainly like your website but you have to check the spelling on several of your posts. Several of them are rife with spelling problems and I find it very troublesome to inform the reality nevertheless I?ll definitely come back again.
I learned more new things on this fat reduction issue. One issue is that good nutrition is highly vital any time dieting. A massive reduction in junk food, sugary meals, fried foods, sweet foods, beef, and white colored flour products could possibly be necessary. Keeping wastes organisms, and toxic compounds may prevent ambitions for fat-loss. While certain drugs quickly solve the challenge, the nasty side effects usually are not worth it, and in addition they never provide more than a momentary solution. This can be a known indisputable fact that 95 of diet plans fail. Many thanks for sharing your ideas on this website.
A motivating discussion is worth comment. I do believe that you need to publish more on this issue, it may not be a taboo matter but usually people do not speak about these subjects. To the next! All the best!
One other thing I would like to mention is that in place of trying to suit all your online degree tutorials on times that you conclude work (since the majority of people are fatigued when they come home), try to arrange most of your classes on the week-ends and only 1 or 2 courses in weekdays, even if it means a little time off your weekend. This pays off because on the week-ends, you will be much more rested along with concentrated with school work. Many thanks for the different guidelines I have realized from your website.
Greetings! Very useful advice in this particular article! It is the little changes which will make the largest changes. Thanks a lot for sharing!
I’m more than happy to uncover this website. I want to to thank you for your time for this fantastic read!! I definitely enjoyed every little bit of it and i also have you saved as a favorite to see new stuff in your website.
Excellent write-up. I certainly love this site. Stick with it!
Great post. I’m dealing with many of these issues as well..
I have taken note that of all kinds of insurance, medical health insurance is the most questionable because of the turmoil between the insurance company’s necessity to remain afloat and the consumer’s need to have insurance policies. Insurance companies’ commissions on well being plans have become low, therefore some corporations struggle to gain profits. Thanks for the concepts you share through this website.
Wow! This could be one particular of the most helpful blogs We have ever arrive across on this subject. Basically Excellent. I’m also a specialist in this topic therefore I can understand your effort.
What an insightful and thoroughly-researched article! The author’s thoroughness and capability to present intricate ideas in a digestible manner is truly praiseworthy. I’m thoroughly enthralled by the breadth of knowledge showcased in this piece. Thank you, author, for providing your expertise with us. This article has been a real game-changer!
One thing is one of the most popular incentives for making use of your cards is a cash-back or even rebate offer. Generally, you’ll get 1-5 back on various purchases. Depending on the card, you may get 1 again on most acquisitions, and 5 back again on expenses made using convenience stores, gasoline stations, grocery stores and also ‘member merchants’.
After I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and now every time a remark is added I get four emails with the identical comment. Is there any manner you may remove me from that service? Thanks!
Very nice post. I certainly love this website. Keep it up!
Having read this I thought it was very enlightening. I appreciate you taking the time and energy to put this content together. I once again find myself personally spending way too much time both reading and leaving comments. But so what, it was still worthwhile!
I’m very happy to read this. This is the kind of manual that needs to be given and not the random misinformation that is at the other blogs. Appreciate your sharing this greatest doc.
Excellent site you have here but I was curious about if you knew of any message boards that cover the same topics discussed in this article? I’d really like to be a part of community where I can get feed-back from other experienced people that share the same interest. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Kudos!
There’s definately a lot to learn about this subject. I love all of the points you have made.
This blog was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something which helped me. Thanks!
Hello! I could have sworn I’ve been to your blog before but after going through many of the posts I realized it’s new to me. Anyways, I’m definitely delighted I found it and I’ll be book-marking it and checking back often.
okmark your weblog and check again here regularly. I’m quite sure I will learn lots of new stuff right here! Best of luck for the next!
Hi are using WordPress for your site platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and create my own. Do you require any coding knowledge to make your own blog? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks for your helpful post. Over time, I have come to be able to understand that the particular symptoms of mesothelioma are caused by a build up connected fluid between the lining of the lung and the upper body cavity. The ailment may start in the chest spot and get distributed to other parts of the body. Other symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include weight loss, severe inhaling and exhaling trouble, throwing up, difficulty taking in food, and irritation of the face and neck areas. It ought to be noted that some people with the disease don’t experience any serious symptoms at all.
Hello there! This article could not be written any better! Looking at this article reminds me of my previous roommate! He continually kept preaching about this. I most certainly will forward this information to him. Pretty sure he’s going to have a very good read. Thank you for sharing!
Spot on with this write-up, I truly feel this web site needs a great deal more attention. I’ll probably be returning to read more, thanks for the info.
Thanks a lot for the helpful article. It is also my belief that mesothelioma cancer has an really long latency period, which means that signs of the disease won’t emerge until eventually 30 to 50 years after the first exposure to asbestos fiber. Pleural mesothelioma, and that is the most common kind and is affecting the area across the lungs, could potentially cause shortness of breath, chest pains, along with a persistent cough, which may cause coughing up blood.
Saved as a favorite, I like your web site.
A formidable share, I just given this onto a colleague who was doing a little analysis on this. And he actually bought me breakfast because I discovered it for him.. smile. So let me reword that: Thnx for the treat! However yeah Thnkx for spending the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love reading extra on this topic. If attainable, as you turn into expertise, would you thoughts updating your blog with extra particulars? It’s highly useful for me. Big thumb up for this blog post!
You made some good points there. I checked on the internet for more info about the issue and found most people will go along with your views on this website.
I have come across that currently, more and more people will be attracted to surveillance cameras and the field of digital photography. However, being photographer, it’s important to first spend so much time deciding which model of video camera to buy in addition to moving via store to store just so you might buy the lowest priced camera of the brand you have decided to pick out. But it isn’t going to end at this time there. You also have take into consideration whether you can purchase a digital photographic camera extended warranty. Thanks a bunch for the good guidelines I received from your site.
A great post without any doubt.
There’s definately a great deal to learn about this subject. I really like all of the points you made.
Hey there! I simply wish to give you a huge thumbs up for your great info you have here on this post. I am returning to your web site for more soon.
Next time I read a blog, Hopefully it won’t fail me as much as this particular one. I mean, I know it was my choice to read through, nonetheless I truly thought you would have something useful to say. All I hear is a bunch of complaining about something you could fix if you weren’t too busy looking for attention.
Thanks for your beneficial post. Through the years, I have come to be able to understand that the symptoms of mesothelioma cancer are caused by this build up connected fluid between your lining of your lung and the chest muscles cavity. The ailment may start while in the chest location and spread to other limbs. Other symptoms of pleural mesothelioma cancer include weight loss, severe breathing trouble, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, and puffiness of the neck and face areas. It really should be noted that some people with the disease don’t experience just about any serious signs at all.
We are a group of volunteers and opening a new scheme in our community. Your website offered us with valuable information to work on. You’ve done an impressive job and our entire community will be thankful to you.
Spot on with this write-up, I seriously feel this web site needs far more attention. I’ll probably be back again to read more, thanks for the info!
Excellent beat ! I would like to apprentice at the same time as you amend your site, how can i subscribe for a blog site? The account aided me a appropriate deal. I have been a little bit familiar of this your broadcast offered vibrant clear concept