Tugwell quotes local wildlife volunteer Rachel McInnes who didn’t know Potato Point, 8 kilometres east of Bodalla, had emus when she moved to the area 18 years ago. “It’s a joy to go out your back or front door and see a couple of emus walking down the street,” she says.
Ms McInnes said humans and emus live together in harmony at Potato Point. “They are protected here. We give them space and they are happy to coexist.” But for visitors and tourists, she warns off selfie shots. “Don’t ever think you’re going to get a selfie with a wild emu. They are absolutely a wild animal.”
The population struggled at first. But Tugwell reports that with the National Parks and Wildlife Service placing fox baits throughout the national park, Potato Point and the surrounding Eurobodalla National Park have become an emu haven.
“Every year we see chicks, and lots of them,” Ms McInnes said. t’s a topic of conversation when the new chicks are hatched: ‘How many have you seen? This year, one local spotted a male emu with 21 chicks.”
From public sources we learn that emus play a crucial role in maintaining the health and biodiversity of Australian ecosystems. Their grazing helps control vegetation growth as they disturb the soil, promoting seed germination and increasing plant diversity. Their droppings provide essential nutrients for plant growth. Emus are also seed dispersers, aiding in the regeneration of native vegetation. They have a unique digestive system that utilizes grit and stones to grind up their food, and they follow migratory locust swarms, feasting on the insects. Emus are omnivorous, eating seeds, flowers, fruits, and tender roots. In summer, they eat insects, especially caterpillars, beetles, and grasshoppers, and also small vertebrates.
The ABC story includes an interview with Western Sydney University ecological statistician Julia Ryeland who said emus are catalysts for bush regeneration by transporting seeds that get stuck in their claws or that pass through their digestive system. She said they are quite a key seed disperser among different landscapes.
