One of the unique native species of the “land of kangaroos” is the emu, also known as the Australian desert ostrich, which is the second largest bird species still in existence today.
Humans possess a remarkable superpower, which is their exceptional ability to exterminate other species. This is particularly true in Australia, where humans have inadvertently driven hundreds of native animal species to extinction or placed them on the endangered list.
However, in this continent, humans also experienced a rare defeat in their “campaign” against a native species—specifically the “Emu War of 1932”—where they completely failed to conquer this remarkable bird.
Not aggressive towards humans, at one point, they fought valiantly against the Australian military and emerged victorious.
A Safe Haven for Birds
After World War I, some veterans were granted land by the Australian government in unclaimed areas of the barren West. In this new territory, these former soldiers sought to leave behind the horrors of war, embracing a peaceful life of farming. Shortly after their arrival, the entire area was filled with wheat fields, a vital food source in the market at that time.
Illustration of the Australian military’s battle against emus.
Just when everything seemed to be going smoothly, tens of thousands of large emus appeared to take up residence. The reason was that the land had been cultivated, providing wheat for them to eat and an abundance of water. As the wheat fields approached harvest time, they charged in, breaching the fences meant to keep rabbits out, destroying crops and leaving the farmers in this new land in great distress. At this time, they were struggling with life as wheat prices plummeted, and the global Great Depression significantly impacted everything related to their families.
The War
Faced with the destructive emus, the farmers, who were former soldiers, took it upon themselves to eliminate these large birds using old rifles, but their efforts were ineffective. Ultimately, they sent a delegation to meet Defense Minister George Pearce, requesting modern weapons to address this threat. The Minister believed that weapons should be managed by the military, so he dispatched a force to assist, with the farmers responsible for providing shelter and food for the troops.
A flock of emus on a wheat field in Western Australia.
Shortly thereafter, in October 1932, military units and equipment were deployed to the affected area under the command of Major W. Meredith from the Royal Australian Artillery. They were heavily armed, equipped with trucks, rifles, Lewis machine guns—the modern weaponry of the time—and 10,000 rounds of ammunition, as if they were heading to the front lines of a world war.
Everyone thought this was merely a target practice drill, and these large emus would be quickly eliminated. However, the troops underestimated their opponents; the emus were more formidable than they had anticipated.
Initially, the difficulty faced by the soldiers was that the emus were not easy to target, as they tended to separate into small groups. Despite their size, they were highly mobile and quickly moved outside the effective firing range of the weapons. On the first day of the operation, the soldiers only managed to take down about 10 emus, expending a significant amount of ammunition.
On November 4, they organized an ambush where around 1,000 emus were expected to pass. However, when they got close enough to fire, only about a dozen were taken down due to a jammed Lewis machine gun. The remaining emus scattered in all directions. The well-prepared ambush ended in utter failure.
The next day, patrols were conducted around the ambush area, but no “enemy” was found. Major Meredith ordered his troops to venture further south in pursuit, but they only encountered a few stragglers. The emus had managed to disperse into small groups and flee the area.
One soldier later remarked: “These giant birds have proven they are not as foolish as people think. Each group has a leader, often a large one with black feathers, standing about 1.8 meters tall, keeping watch while the others forage in the wheat fields. When there are signs of danger, it alerts its companions, and dozens of heads that were previously pecking at the grain will rise from the field, look around, and then flee into the bushes, while the leader remains in place, only running away when its group is safe.”
On the sixth day of the campaign, the military had fired approximately 2,500 rounds and had only “removed” about 200 emus from the battlefield. This was not only a military failure but also economically ineffective, leading to a pause in operations on November 8. Major Meredith could only console himself with the fact that, at least, his forces had not suffered… casualties. The result of the “battles” was 1 – 0 in favor of the emus.
News of this bizarre mission and the military’s defeat by the emus spread quickly through the media at the time. Politicians sarcastically suggested that medals should be awarded to the emus.
As for the military, the situation was viewed as a waste of resources and an underestimation of the “enemy.” Undeterred, Major Meredith launched a second campaign. This time it was more successful, with 1,000 emus killed, but this was still far short of the original goal. It was estimated that, on average, 10 rounds were needed to take down one emu, which was far from the desired effectiveness. Thus, the heavily equipped troops withdrew once more. The final result: Emus – 2; Military – 0.
Afterward, although farmers continued to call for intervention, the government believed that using military force to address such issues had been sufficient. Instead, a monetary reward policy for farmers who shot emus was implemented. This measure proved to be more effective. However, the problem of emus damaging crops was not resolved until 20 years later, when the Western Australian government initiated a project to build a 217 km long, nearly 1.5 m high fence to keep these birds, as well as dogs and rabbits, out of the wheat fields.
Like their African cousins, the Australian desert ostrich cannot fly, with a large size reaching up to 1.8 meters tall and weighing between 40 to 50 kg. When sprinting, they can reach speeds of up to 50 km/h.
Wild emu in Australia. (Photo: iStock).
The Emu War is a testament to the incredible resilience of this bird species. Standing nearly two meters tall with a stride of over a meter, emus belong to a group of flightless birds with dinosaur ancestors. They are the only birds with strong leg muscles that allow them to surge forward. Their powerful muscles provide them with exceptional speed and endurance, enabling them to travel 24 km a day in search of food. Their movements are highly unpredictable and can occur in any direction, according to Rowan Mott, an ecologist with the Bush Heritage Association.
While emus typically forage alone or in small groups, droughts can compel them to form large flocks, transforming their solitary foraging behavior into collective movements across the countryside. Not only did they survive the Emu War, but they also play a crucial role in the ecosystem by dispersing seeds over great distances, aiding plant regeneration throughout Australia. Protected under Australian environmental legislation since 1999, their population remains stable with over 600,000 wild emus across the continent.
Today, these giant running birds continue to inhabit remote and isolated areas of Australia and do not cause significant trouble for farmers. The Emu War of 1932 is noted as the first and only instance in history where a bird triumphed in a military campaign.
