In 1932, a group of Australian soldiers and farmers waged an unconventional war against a horde of emus, large flightless birds that were destroying crops and livestock in Western Australia.

The Great Emu War, as it was dubbed, was a military failure and a public embarrassment… pic.twitter.com/69k6jZY4Zb

— Historic Vids (@historyinmemes) August 2, 2023

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In 1932, a group of Australian soldiers and farmers waged an unconventional war against a horde of emus, large flightless birds that were destroying crops and livestock in Western Australia.

The Great Emu War, as it was dubbed, was a military failure and a public embarrassment for the Australian government.

The soldiers were armed with machine guns and trucks, but they proved to be ineffective against the fast and agile emus, who scattered and regrouped at will.

The emus also seemed to have a remarkable ability to survive bullets, as some of them were reported to have taken up to five shots before falling. The soldiers managed to kill only about 250 emus out of an estimated 20,000. The war ended after six weeks, with the emus declared the victors.

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Holdfast Emu War

You can play a game where the emus try to get revenge.

Aggie1205 said:

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Holdfast Emu War

You can play a game where the emus try to get revenge.

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Revenge for winning?

Revenge for being attacked in the first place.

My late grandmother was in an assisted living, and there was an old lady there who loved to start rumors and otherwise stir up s***. She told my grandmom that the reason the chicken served there was so tough, was because it wasn't chicken, but emu, because the assisted living was being cheap.

Dad tried to convince grandmom that emu would have been much more expensive, but he's not sure she ever believed him.

Why don't they try helicopter emu hunting, modeled on helicopter hog hunting here in Texas? Probably need a larger caliber though. .50 caliber would probably work well.

This event occurred in 1932. Though helicopters were around as specialty craft, Sikorsky didn't get its first mass produced helicopter into full production until 1942.

ja86 said:

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This event occurred in 1932. Though helicopters were around as specialty craft, Sikorsky didn't get its first mass produced helicopter into full production until 1942.

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Yes, well I assumed they still probably have Emus around being pests today, since the Emus won the war.

Watched one get hit by a vehicle going at least 45-50 on the Cameron-Bunger Ranch outside Brackettville in the early 2000's. Feathers went everywhere and it rolled like 15'!

It stood up and shook its head and trotted off like nothing happened. Freakin dinosaurs man.

MAROON said:

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Was on a deer lease near San Angelo way back. It was after the emu craze had died down. There were some roaming the ranch and the rancher told us to shoot them on sight. We asked if the were good to eat. He said they were but they were a lot like San Angelo women - all thigh and no breast.

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Tried an Emu taco at the Diamondback Jubilee in Lometa about 1990.
Could not finish it, simply bad tasting meat.