Thirsty emus flock to outback mining town as drought deepens
Australia’s worst drought in a generation is driving flocks of emus into an outback mining town in a desperate hunt for food and water, an animal rescue unit in the town of Broken Hill said.
The large, flightless birds are sometimes sighted in the town, 935 kilometres west of Sydney, but not in the numbers being seen amid the winter drought that has turned New South Wales into a dust bowl.
“We used to have the regulars, probably about five or six,” said Emma Singleton, spokeswoman for Broken Hill Council’s Rescue and Rehabilitation of Australian Native Animals unit.
“Now they’re actually walking down our main street. We’re seeing mobs of them,” she said.
“We’ve had 14 on a sporting oval. They’ve been out there for weeks – the locals in that area are giving them food and water.”
A local woman returned to her family home in Broken Hill to find the once thriving rural property hit by worsening drought. Video she took on July 17 shows mobs of emus running amok in search of water.
Speaking with ABC Radio, Esther McKenzie said the cattle property was unrecognisable.
“The dam was down to less than a metre of water, and that dam is probably the size of a football oval,” Ms McKenzie said.
“There was a whole bunch of emus running around the house trying to find water. When the wind comes it picks up the top layer of dust and it always looks a little bit apocalyptic that way.”
The rescue unit doesn’t try to chase the birds off the streets. Instead the council is just warning residents to watch out for the animals.
Being hit by road traffic is becoming an increasing risk, with five emus hit in the past week alone.
“Our biggest concern at the moment is dog attacks on them,” Singleton said.
– with Storyful
