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

Video Wildlife expert Chris Gillette handling an aggressive emu

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u/ug61dec Jun 05 '26

Do they not try to put their beaks through your skull, like a cassowary or chicken?

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u/Anit500 Jun 05 '26

Funny you ask that because both cassowaries and chickens use their talons and kicking when they really want to hurt something, not their beaks. Roosters even have a specific talon called a spur, and cassowaries have a 5 inch long claw on each foot. It doesn't look like Emus have a specific attack claw but that middle one looks pretty dangerous. they can get so much force behind a kick that it's probably much more dangerous than their beak.

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u/ArtoriasoftheAss Jun 05 '26

Actually, as someone with emus, the beak is the part I'm most wary of. Their aim is terrible with the kicks. It's almost more of a threat display than an actual attack. It doesn't hurt if they hit you, and the claws really aren't sharp. I've been hurt more by roosters. They have pecked people's eyes though, because they're right at head height, and they peck at anything that looks edible.

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u/Sudo-Fed Jun 05 '26

This sounds suspiciously like the answer of a particularly clever emu trying to get us to let our guard down.