Wild Emus Express Submission by Sitting Down

[briefvisit]

The first time I saw this, I was puzzled. And I’ve only seen it a half a dozen times. But one time – Eric with a clutch in tow – there was no mistaking the behavior.

So, what?

It seems, in the same way that a dog will roll belly up to express submission, that emus express submission by simply plonking themselves down on the ground.

Yesterday at dusk, eight emus turned up: LimpyChick, the resident adult female; the four ‘chicks’ of Tooshtoosh’s clutch, and three brazen wild birds. Right on cue, LimpyChick attacked them, and for some seconds there were emus running in all directions.

Then two just sat down (and began preening – always with the preening!). I’m sure enough that it is an example of submission, and I bet it’s the first time it’s ever been posted on the Net.

https://imgur.com/a/DAqg7GA

Has anyone any observations of this among their own emus?

Supreme Emu

 

[lost-duckling]

mine was being all aggresive yesteday as i was feeding him. so I am standing there bumbing chests, hissing and mimicking what other sounds he makes and stroking/manipulating his neck. than all of a suddden as i start to go my way back to the house he plops down. then i leave triumphantly after i come pet him. i also saw him do this when some body was trying to get him to go away so they could open the gate.

 

[briefvisit]

Thank you. Every bit of data helps us understand stuff better.

[Planet Rothschildi will be 5,000 days old later this summer. I will have an AMA.]

SE

 

[lost-duckling]

Thank you. Every bit of data helps us understand stuff better.

[Planet Rothschildi will be 5,000 days old later this summer. I will have an AMA.]

SE

I got mine to do this two more times by just returning his aggresion and effectivly beating him at his own game. hopefully he will eventually stopp challenging (and wanting to escape) me when ever I open the gate.

 

[briefvisit]

This is perhaps the first time ever that we've had this sort of experiment undertaken. It's very gratifying to me, lost duckling. There are things that I can do that you guys can't. And things that you guys can do that I can't.

NB: gee, I'd be very very careful with this technique over time. If you do it with an emu, perhaps a female, who is not cowed, you may have bitten off more than you can chew.

SE

 

[briefvisit]

AND:

if you are curious and energetic, here is another experiment for you:

can you play recordings of males or females vocalising? I managed to play the sound of a cassowary chick in distress to a parenting emu male and his clutch, and the effect was unmistakeable. They recognised the sound.

And just a couple of times I have dared to imitate the vocalisations of a female*, and got immediate reactions.

*Same concern as above. Having noted that Dromaius Novaehollandiae are, contrary to certain Facebook claims, not responsible for drive-by shootings or sarin-gas attacks on subways, I have seen wild emus launch astonishingly fast and fierce attacks on each other. I was, by merest chance, standing only about twenty feet away the day that Greedy Emu 'dethroned' her Dad, Eric the Emu.

Her head was nine feet off the ground -- after a forty-foot run-up -- when she landed a double-barrel Bruce-Lee kick to Eric's chest.

 

[lost-duckling]

AND:

if you are curious and energetic, here is another experiment for you:

can you play recordings of males or females vocalising? I managed to play the sound of a cassowary chick in distress to a parenting emu male and his clutch, and the effect was unmistakeable. They recognised the sound.

And just a couple of times I have dared to imitate the vocalisations of a female*, and got immediate reactions.

*Same concern as above. Having noted that Dromaius Novaehollandiae are, contrary to certain Facebook claims, not responsible for drive-by shootings or sarin-gas attacks on subways, I have seen wild emus launch astonishingly fast and fierce attacks on each other. I was, by merest chance, standing only about twenty feet away the day that Greedy Emu 'dethroned' her Dad, Eric the Emu.

Her head was nine feet off the ground -- after a forty-foot run-up -- when she landed a double-barrel Bruce-Lee kick to Eric's chest.

wow... and i only intend to try it with my male (herold), he is about a year and a half old. So far he has always backed down. When he was younger he would let my sit next to him and rest my head in his fluff but i havent had a chance to try it in a while. He still lets me come up and pet him gently for pretty good amounts of time. My female (darlene) is pretty skittish and generally keeps to her self.