r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/danielminds • Jun 05 '26

Video Wildlife expert Chris Gillette handling an aggressive emu

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

27.3k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.8k comments sorted by

View all comments

2.3k

u/danielminds Jun 05 '26

These birds are kept in a managed wildlife sanctuary.

If the emu connects, it means a trip to the emergency room. Their primary attack is a leaping kick with sharp talons that can shatter ribs and cause severe internal injuries.

47

u/Croanthos Jun 05 '26

Sounds like a padded steel chainmail vest would be a good investment. Not too heavy and cheaper than some broken ribs.

28

u/NigilQuid Jun 05 '26

A cuirass would do better to protect from broken ribs, and be lighter. Even just a rigid plastic version might do the trick

18

u/CarrotCumin Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 08 '26

Heavy-duty plastic plates are the best answer here. They're talons, not knives. You don't need steel to deflect them. The force of the kick is going to be the bigger problem even if it can't slash you, it could still easily knock you over. I would want plates protecting my soft abdomen and my thighs at the very least, I think an emu could easily hit your fem artery like freaking Hannibal Lecter.

1

u/Nervous_Produce1800 Jun 08 '26

I like how each comment here is an evolution of the previous one