Well, not quite! BUT .... On a recent trip to the Blackfellows
Point/Tuross Lake area I encountered an emu while paddling my kayak up
the channel on the eastern side of Horse Island. I watched in amazement
as it emerged from the scrub on the mainland side and proceeded to walk
into the water, gradually immersing itself until only the top of its
rounded body and the long neck and head were above water - the resultant
image was an excellent impression of the mythical Northern Hemisphere
creature. Now I know that emus have long legs, but the depth sounder on
my kayak showed a depth of 2.2 meters at the crossing point to Horse
Island which of course meant the emu was swimming, something I hadn't
heard of or even considered before. Having said that I dare say there
have been many occasions where emus have had to sink or swim during
floods in the outback. I'm not sure what the emu numbers in the Tuross
area would be but I do recall several years ago seeing an adult with 5
chicks on a rural property just east of Bodalla. A friend more recently
reported seeing an adult with 2 chicks - an indication of a (probably)
small but thriving population.
Cheers
Rod Mackay
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