Sunshine Coast community rallies after petition calls for emu to be removed from wildlife park

News.com.au

7 days ago

An Emu with a substantial social media following is at the centre of simmering tensions on the Sunshine Coast after a petition was created to remove the bird from the conservation park it calls home.
Fluffy the emu is something of a celebrity in the Parklands Conservation Park in Nambour, where he's known to pose for selfies, jog alongside runners and even offer willing passers by the occasional hug.
Fluffy has lived in the park for eight years after he and his brother Muffy were brought there by a couple who rescued them as chicks. He now has his own Instagram page and has become an attraction of sorts, with people coming from far and wide to meet the native bird.
The emu is so loved by the local community that when a petition was recently launched to remove him from the area, a counter-petition immediately sprung up with more than 10 times as many signatures.
The petition calling for Fluffy's removal cites multiple incidents 'involving a hand raised emu displaying aggressive and territorial behaviour, particularly towards horses and riders'.
It states that 'the emu has shown no fear of humans or animals' and that horse riders 'have expressed concern not only for their own safety but for the well being of their animals and other park users.'
Local resident Tania Stickler is one of the 194 people who has thrown their support behind the petition after she was injured when she fell from her horse during an encounter with Fluffy in the park earlier this month.
'It [Fluffy] just came at me, it fluffed itself up and my horse spun. It was a blatant attack,' Ms Stickler told A Current Affair on Thursday night.
'I fell off and I was hurt, I was extensively bruised - that was a result of the fall - but he also came at me pecking before my horse took off.'
She claimed that Fluffy, 'might be okay around some people, but it still has seriously hurt other people. People are scared to go there.'
The park is signposted with a warning that recommends horse riders consider an alternative location in the period between May and September as 'an emu in this park is active at this time of year, particularly towards horses'.
Another sign warns that two hand-raised emus live in the park and 'may approach you'.
In response to the claims of aggressive behaviour, wildlife advocate and Sunshine Coast Citizen of the Year, Claire Smith, started the counter petition to protect Fluffy's right to live in the park which since amassed more than 2,700 signatures.
Also speaking on ACA, Ms Smith launched into a passionate defence of the emu, calling him 'the most gentle bird'.
'Fluffy is as aggressive as a newborn kitten,' she said.
'He's so gentle that children go on the park runs with Fluffy, old people, people that are disabled, if you're running, he'll trot alongside you. Fluffy is gentle.
'He's just got this real affinity and this real urge to be with human beings.'
When asked about Ms Stickler's account of Fluffy's behaviour, Ms Smith exclaimed: 'If Fluffy ever really did that, I would eat my hat, your hat, and everybody else's hats in Nambour because Fluffy is incredibly gentle.'
Ms Smith argued that horse riders must be very experienced to ride through a park where wildlife are present.
'Anything can come out on a track when it's a conservation park, it could be a large snake, it could be a wallaby, a paddy melon, or it could even be a drop bear,' she said.