Emus next on the NZ list?

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RussCannings
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Emus next on the NZ list?

Postby RussCannings » Mon Jan 18, 2021 3:58 pm

Many will know of the Chatham Island emus. I have never been there but it sounds like there are hundreds of them living wild and it sounds like it's time to put them on the list if we can also count things like Cape Barren Goose and Mute Swan on the mainland?

I have no experience with the above population, but wanted to share some info on another group of feral Emu that roam in the East Cape area.

Last year my wife and I saw a small group SW of Tikitiki. I knew there was rumoured to be a feral population in the pastureland around East Cape, but I wasn't convinced these birds weren't associated with a domestic set-up. There was no sign of emu-fencing and they seemed rather wary despite initially being close to the highway, so I noted it down and made a mental note to follow up if possible. I kind of forgot about it for a while until I was having dinner with a hunter who lives in Gisborne a few weeks ago. He said that he regularly comes across "wild" emus in the Tikitiki area and that they are quite wary and tend to live along the river plains and gullies. He has talked to locals who cooroberate this though he wasn't sure how long they have been around other than ("for a number of years"). I'm not sure if these would be from the same population as the East Cape birds (a forest separates them), but perhaps worthy of inclusion as a 'tickable' population if Emu is indeed added to NZ's list.

Below is a map of the primary area (in yellow) where my friend tends to find the emus, and Lisa and I saw some about halfway along this area. ***While not shaded, they also occur north of SH35.
EmuEastmap.PNG
EmuEastmap.PNG (1.81 MiB) Viewed 3545 times

I have also heard of potentially feral emus in the Far North--though I have not personally come across these.

Interesting to think about--anyone have more info on NZ emu populations?

Cheers,

Russ C
Morrinsville, NZ
SomesBirder
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Re: Emus next on the NZ list?

Postby SomesBirder » Tue Jan 19, 2021 2:55 pm

I don't think that the regional councils will be keen on having feral emus around once they hear of how feral greater rheas in Germany have become pests of crops and pasture. Not to mention the emu war.
Emus disperse blackberries, too.
les
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Re: Emus next on the NZ list?

Postby les » Wed Jan 20, 2021 3:43 pm

SomesBirder wrote:I don't think that the regional councils will be keen on having feral emus around once they hear of how feral greater rheas in Germany have become pests of crops and pasture. Not to mention the emu war.
Emus disperse blackberries, too.

not much to worry about with that,the blackberries are already wall to wall up there!!!
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RussCannings
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Re: Emus next on the NZ list?

Postby RussCannings » Sat Jan 23, 2021 2:01 pm

Some great contextual info from Paul G:

"Nice work on the Emus!! I've seen them out east on a number of occasions including my first trip in 2006. Then there was an adult with several foot-high chicks on a metal road emerging from part-grown maize fields.
I have done consideranle research on them including conversations with farmers out east, and read-up historic literature specifically about the importation and farming of ostrich in New Zealand. Beleive it ir not, there are detailed books recording the entire era.

The result of my enquiries and reading reveal that there was indeed also a large Emu farming industry in New Zealand from at least the 1920's, especially in the east of the North Island. By 1990 the market for Emu and Ostrich products was in steep decline and in that year prices and demand collapsed completely. There was also some kind of damaging govt intervention in that year that rendered the entire industry uneconomic and severely loss-making overnight. (I don't remember if it was a veterinary/animal welfare matter or some kind of taxation issue).
Whichever it was, this was the straw that broke the camel's back. Not sure why Emus could not be economically slaughtered in the same way as Ostriches, but they were mostly just released when the bankrupt farmer just opened the gates and let em out! I have at least one photo of a bird taken in the east in summer 2006. Clearly they are now a self-sustaining breeding population, as one had chicks, at least 16 years after release."
andrewcrossland
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Re: Emus next on the NZ list?

Postby andrewcrossland » Sat Jan 23, 2021 11:09 pm

You'd think they'd be obvious though?
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RussCannings
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Re: Emus next on the NZ list?

Postby RussCannings » Sun Jan 24, 2021 5:48 pm

Hi Andrew

Having seen them myself, they certainly are! (I'm sure anyone who has seen an emu can concur ;) )

Here's one if Paul's shots from the summer of 2006 (somewhere south of Ruatoria).
00543001_DSCF7193_0003107571.JPG
00543001_DSCF7193_0003107571.JPG (904.22 KiB) Viewed 3151 times


To be clear, my contact in Gisborne sees them annually in that area. My Dad saw one or a few near the East Cape lighthouse in 2017 which is what first piqued my interest

Russ
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Re: Emus next on the NZ list?

Postby SomesBirder » Sun Jan 24, 2021 7:19 pm

The emu would look a bit awkward alongside the kiwi species in a future edition of Heather & Robertson, wouldn't it?
Maybe it could be given a small-but-passable illustration, like the ostrich in Simpson & Day, or the greater flamingo in Menkhorst et al.
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Steve Wood
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Re: Emus next on the NZ list?

Postby Steve Wood » Sun Jan 24, 2021 8:50 pm

Several birds seen on the Chatham Is. (2020) and by all accounts they are doing very well.
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Ken George
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Re: Emus next on the NZ list?

Postby Ken George » Mon Jan 25, 2021 8:38 am

I saw an adult with two young in a maize field right beside the main road at Awakeri just west of Whakatane. This was mid January. I assumed it was the farmer's pet so didn't post it or put it on ebird. Any locals know more about this group? Is it a small feral group? Certainly breeding.
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Ken George
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Re: Emus next on the NZ list?

Postby Ken George » Mon Jan 25, 2021 10:09 am

Thinking about that more clearly, they must be the farmer's mob otherwise the commercial berry orchardists would be kicking up hell if there were non-contained emu around.

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