In an Australian outback town with a population that varies between about 10 and 20 people, two cheeky emus have made quite the name for themselves.
Now, they are multiplying.
Kevin and Carol have been famous in Yaraka since their hatching about four years ago, but became international stars in 2020 when word got around the globe that the cheeky emus had hilariously been banned from the local pub.
The reason? While they were naughty and disruptive, their poo also made quite a mess.
“Like a duck times 50,” Yaraka local Leanne Byrne laughed.
Speaking to news.com.au, Byrne explained how she had helped hatch the chicks with an electric blanket after friends found nine eggs in scrub they were moving. Unfortunately, most of Kevin and Carol’s siblings passed.
They have developed such a close bond with Byrne that when she leaves town for a few months a year for work, they usually retreat to the hills until she is back again.
But on Byrne’s return to town this year, Kevin and Carol remained aloof.
It’s a big personality change for the pair who are known to steal toast and drink tourists’ tea in the local caravan park.
“They’ll steal the change out of the console in your car,” Byrne added. “They’re quite cheeky.”
The difference is, Kevin and Carol are now responsible parents. They have been spotted with chicks!
“Some gentlemen were cutting some wood and they came up behind them and tapped them on the shoulder and said hi,” Byrne said of their first appearance back in town.
They have been difficult to locate since.
“A lot of townsfolk ring me straight away and say ‘I think Kevin and Carol are down near the dump’ and I rush down there and can’t see them, or ‘I think they’re up near the airstrip’ and nope I can’t see them,” she said.
Byrne explained when Kevin and Carol were chicks they stuck around town because there was a drought and it was easier to find water and feed.
She said the new chicks won’t have this problem as there are plenty of waterholes around.
While they are spending less time in town, Byrne said Carol will still come by for a cuddle and lay her head on her shoulder.
However, she actually hopes they stay out of town and away from traffic while the chicks are young.
“I hope when they’re a bit older they’ll come back with their chicks,” she said.
We wonder if the pub ban applies to offspring!