An emu needing a bit of extra TLC has undergone a novel medical procedure in the comfort of his own habitat at Healesville Sanctuary.
Keepers noticed 22-year-old Blinky was walking with an unusual limp and his gait had changed, prompting them to take a closer look with wildlife vets.
The challenge? It’s incredibly risky and stressful to put a big bird like an Emu under anaesthetic for a health check.
With such long necks, it’s difficult to safely deliver anaesthetic the gas to an Emu’s lungs.
Using a tube can also scratch or damage the windpipe – posing serious health risks.
To avoid this, the team hatched an ambitious plan – training Blinky to voluntarily participate in an X-ray within his own habitat.
It took 18-months before he was ready to step up to the plate.
But this important examination was critical to finding out what was wrong.
Healesville Sanctuary emu keeper Louise Tegg said being able to do this check in habitat is super special and it has taken a team of people to train for this behaviour, including vets, keepers and an animal training coordinator.
“Emu may traditionally be seen as not super intelligent or trainable. However, they are very inquisitive. If you find the right motivator, Emus can be fantastic to engage in healthcare training,” Ms Tegg said.
“In Blinky’s case, he enjoys fruit and veg as a reward for choosing to participate. But he also enjoys tactile positive reinforce with scratches at the base of his neck. The little scratches we were able to give him, allowed Blinky to stand still enough so we could take a clear X-Ray of his hips.
“Blinky was an absolute superstar while receiving his X-Rays. He was patient with us. It takes time to figure out if we were taking the photos from the correct angles and getting a clear image. He hung out with us for the entire time. He remained calm and thoroughly enjoyed lots of tasty food afterwards as a big thank you for participating.”
Vets are now working to determine the underlying cause of the strange limp, as Blinky spends the winter breeding season sitting non-stop on a nest incubating eggs, decreasing his mobility greatly and dropping weight.
In the meantime, Blinky is receiving pain relief and keepers are closely monitoring his ongoing health and wellbeing.
Healesville Sanctuary is home to a large wildlife hospital known as the Australian Wildlife Health Centre (AWHC).
The hospital treats approximately 2000 annually as well as caring for the resident animals.
Visitors can see vet procedures in real-time as the hospital has glass internal walls looking into the surgery rooms.
Two Emus live at the front entrance to Healesville Sanctuary, a male and female pair called Blinky and Drum.
Frankie, their offspring lives on the Woodlands Track.
Visitors can learn more about these beautiful big birds at a keeper talk at 1pm each day.
Emus are Australia’s largest native bird species and can be found in woodlands and arid environments across the country.
Emus are also flightless, and they can run up to sixty kilometres per hour.
They are classified as Least Concern with a stable population according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.
