Emmanuel is not a bird like the others. This emu became a social media star following pecking at his owner Taylor Blake’s phone while she was filming hilarious videos regarding life on a farm. Since then, their videos have amassed millions of views and fans.
The girl’s family owns a hobby farm, Knuckle Bump Farms, in southern Florida. This is where Emmanuel lives, along with many other animals. Cousin of cassava and of theostrichthe emu is a bird native toAustralia which can measure 1.90 m for 45 kg.
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Hurricane Ian responsible for bird flu
But for the past few days, the large bird has been between life and death. Taylor Blake has just revealed that the farm was affected by a strong epidemic of Avian Flu. According to the young woman, the epidemic is due to “wild geese that invade the farm at night”. She further revealed that she had been in contact with Florida state officials, who allegedly told her that the pools of standing water left by Hurricane Ian late last month had spurred the outbreak. and had “rendered the virus out of control”.
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Chickens, geese, ducks, swans… the disease killed more than 50 birds living on the property in the space of three days, leaving only two survivors: the emu Emmanuel and his stablemate Rico the swan.
I love you so much, Emmanuel???? pic.twitter.com/MK3uDQUhTZ
— eco sister (@hiitaylorblake) October 16, 2022
Since Wednesday, Emmanuel has suffered from nerve damage, and cannot eat or walk. Desperate to save her feathered friend, the farmer’s wife said she slept less than an hour a night and fed him subcutaneous fluids given every two hours, 24 hours a day.
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The emu still has “a long way to go” to recover, Blake said, but insists it’s a “beating”. As proof, while unable to drink, the bird finally managed to drink on its own today. A beautiful note of hope!
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