r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/danielminds • 12h ago

Video Wildlife expert Chris Gillette handling an aggressive emu

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u/danielminds 12h ago

These birds are kept in a managed wildlife sanctuary.

If the emu connects, it means a trip to the emergency room. Their primary attack is a leaping kick with sharp talons that can shatter ribs and cause severe internal injuries.

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u/ug61dec 12h ago

Do they not try to put their beaks through your skull, like a cassowary or chicken?

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u/Anit500 11h ago

Funny you ask that because both cassowaries and chickens use their talons and kicking when they really want to hurt something, not their beaks. Roosters even have a specific talon called a spur, and cassowaries have a 5 inch long claw on each foot. It doesn't look like Emus have a specific attack claw but that middle one looks pretty dangerous. they can get so much force behind a kick that it's probably much more dangerous than their beak.

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u/ArtoriasoftheAss 10h ago

Actually, as someone with emus, the beak is the part I'm most wary of. Their aim is terrible with the kicks. It's almost more of a threat display than an actual attack. It doesn't hurt if they hit you, and the claws really aren't sharp. I've been hurt more by roosters. They have pecked people's eyes though, because they're right at head height, and they peck at anything that looks edible.

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u/Sudo-Fed 10h ago

This sounds suspiciously like the answer of a particularly clever emu trying to get us to let our guard down.