Snack before the the photoshoot

They eat a variety of native and introduced plant species depending on seasonal availability. They also eat insects, including grasshoppers and... more

by Miroslava Jurcik

Title

Snack before the the photoshoot

Artist

Miroslava Jurcik

Medium

Photograph

Description

They eat a variety of native and introduced plant species depending on seasonal availability. They also eat insects, including grasshoppers and crickets, lady birds, soldier and saltbush caterpillars, Bogong and cotton-boll moth larvae and ants for protein. In Western Australia travelling emus eat seeds from Acacia aneura until it rains, after which they eat fresh grass shoots and caterpillars; They are also known to eat wheat crops, and any fruit or other crops that it can access, easily climbing over high fences. Emus serve as an important agent for the dispersal of large viable seeds, which contributes to floral biodiversity. One undesirable effect of this occurred in Queensland in the 1930s and 1940s when emus ate cactus in the outback there. They defecated the seeds in various places as they moved around, spreading the unwanted plant.
Emus also require pebbles and stones to assist in the digestion of the plant material. They also eat charcoal. Captive emus are also known to eat shards of glass, marbles, car keys, jewellery and nuts and bolts.

Emus drink at infrequent intervals, but ingest large amounts when they do so. They typically inspect the water body in groups for a period before kneeling down at the edge of the water and drinking.[36] They are observed to prefer kneeling on solid earth while drinking, rather than in rocks or mud, presumably due to a fear of sinking.[36] They often drink continuously for 10 minutes, unless disturbed by danger, in which case they interrupt themselves to deal with the threat before resuming. Due to the arid environment, they often go one or two days without finding a source of water and drinking.[36] They typically drink once per day or night, but can do so several times daily if supply is abundant.[36] In the wild, they often share water sources with kangaroos, other birds and wild camels and donkeys that were let loose by European settlers. Emus are suspicious of these other species and tend to wait in bushes and wait for other types of animals to leave; they choose to drink separately to the other animals. If an emu senses abnormal circumstances or a threat, it drinks while standing.

Uploaded

August 16th, 2014