In 1932, Australia Declared ‘War' On This Speedy Land Animal – A Biologist Reveals Who Won

Forbes

17-05-2025

The IUCN, the organization that tracks endangered species, reports 824 confirmed extinct animals dating back to 1500 A.D. – many of which were caused by humans.
824 is the number of confirmed extinct animal species, but the true total is certainly much higher.
Some animal groups have been harder hit than others. Birds, for instance, have more confirmed extinctions than any other animal group except gastropods (snails and slugs). Digging deeper, flightless birds have been especially hard hit, with one study estimating that 160+ species of flightless birds have perished since humans came into existence.
Island-dwelling ratites, like the elephant bird and giant moa, are among the most striking casualties.
So, when I tell you that the Australian government waged all-out war on the emu, a flightless bird endemic to the Australian continent, and lost, you might wonder how – especially when humans have been so effective at ridding the planet of just about every other flightless bird known to exist.
Here's the story of Australia's failed attempt to eradicate the emu in the early 1930s.
The Emu War began in Western Australia, not long after World War I. In the aftermath of the war, many veterans were granted land in the Campion district as part of a government-backed agricultural settlement scheme. These men, many of whom had little farming experience, worked to convert the land into productive wheat fields.
Just as the crops began to mature, a foe appeared: thousands upon thousands of emus.
Driven inland by the seasonal migration and attracted by the abundant water and food of the farms, as many as 20,000 emus descended on the wheat fields. The large birds trampled fences, damaged infrastructure, and devoured crops. For already struggling farmers, it was a disaster.
Desperate, the farmers appealed to the federal government for help. The request was unusual but somehow approved: they asked for military assistance to deal with the emus.
In November 1932, the Australian Army deployed soldiers armed with Lewis machine guns – relics of the Great War – and nearly 10,000 rounds of ammunition. The operation was led by Major G.P.W. Meredith of the Royal Australian Artillery. It sounded simple: locate emus, shoot emus, problem solved.
But it wasn't simple. Despite being flightless, emus are fast, agile, and extremely difficult to herd.
The birds often scattered into small groups that proved hard to target efficiently. The soldiers struggled to get close enough for effective shooting, and the emus' speed (up to 40 miles per hour) allowed them to outrun many attacks. In one instance, the military mounted a gun on a truck, only for the terrain to be so bumpy that it rendered the gun useless while chasing birds.
Over several days, the operation turned into an exercise in futility. By early December, the mission was called off. Official estimates suggest that out of the 2,500 rounds fired, only about 1,000 emus were killed – a far cry from the complete eradication farmers had hoped for.
Worse, the emus had simply adapted. They split into smaller, more evasive groups and seemed to learn to avoid danger zones. One ornithologist later quipped that the emus had 'won every round' of the campaign.
The press, meanwhile, had a field day. Newspapers dubbed it the "Emu War" and criticized the government's absurd militarized solution to what was essentially a pest problem. The whole thing became a national embarrassment – and eventually, a global curiosity.
In the end, the government withdrew the troops and opted for a bounty system instead. Farmers could earn money for every emu they killed, and over time, the population was somewhat controlled, but never eliminated.
By every reasonable metric, the emus won. The military was forced to retreat, the emus returned to their stomping grounds, and to this day, they roam freely across much of Australia. The Great Emu War stands as an example of a conflict in history where animals outmaneuvered an army.
Does thinking about the possible extinction of a species change your mood? Take the Connectedness to Nature Scale to see where you stand on this unique personality dimension.