Australian Outback pub bans messy emus for 'bad behaviour'

An Australian Outback pub has banned emus for "bad behaviour". Photo / 123RF

An Australian Outback pub has banned emus for "bad behaviour," and erected barriers to prevent the large, flightless birds from creating havoc inside.

Locals and tourists have been bemused by the antics of the emus eager to steal food from people in Yaraka, a remote Queensland state outpost with a permanent population of 18.

But things took an intolerable turn last week when two of the birds, Carol and Kevin, discovered they could climb the front stairs of the Yaraka Hotel, the only pub, publican Chris Gimblett said on Tuesday.

"They're learnt to walk up the front steps of the hotel which has been causing just a few issues," especially with the amount of their waste, he said.

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Two emus in Yaraka, Queensland (population 16 or so, not including the emus), have been banned from the local pub. Gerry Gimblett, who owns the Yaraka Hotel with her husband Chris, told Guardian Australia they were left with no other option after the birds’ recent “bad behaviour”. “They’ve been stealing things from the guests, especially their food. They’d stick their heads in and pinch toast out of the toaster,” Gimblett explained. “But the main reason we’ve banned them is their droppings. They’re enormous, very large and very smelly, and they created great stains,” she said. Though the emus are a great tourist attraction, the pub has reportedly not experienced a significant drop-off in patronage, according to Gimblett.

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Gimblett solved the problem by stringing a rope across the top of the stairs. A sign advises customers to replace the rope once they enter because "emus have been banned from this establishment for bad behaviour."

The inquisitive emus are not yet clever enough to duck under the rope to get inside the pub.

While Australian pubs occasionally have a parrot in the bar, emus are not indoor birds.

"When emus get a fright, they head in a forward direction but are normally looking behind so they can't see where they're going and this is where chaos can happen," Gimblett said. "They bump into everything."

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Morning.

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Visitors staying at the Yaraka trailer park have been surprised by the lengths emus will go to steal food, including pecking a fried egg off a barbecue plate, Gimblett said.

"They will lean through the (trailer) door with their long necks and pluck toast out of the toaster," Gimblett said.

"If you've got a mug of coffee on the little table by the door, they will drink all the coffee, without spilling it I might add. You just discover that your mug's empty. They're just eating machines," he added.

There used to be eight emus in Yaraka. A resident rescued eggs from an abandoned nest in 2018 and hatched them with the help of an electric blanket. But all except Carol and Kevin have moved on, apparently in search of mates.

"We're in lockdown mode," Gimblett said of his barricaded pub. "At least it's emus and not coronavirus."

- AP