Emu Emmanuel, Known For Using TikTok, Has Avian Flu

Oct, 2022 - By SMI

According to his owner, Emmanuel, the emu who gained notoriety on TikTok for his attention-grabbing antics, is in critical health after getting the avian flu.

The emu was previously covered by CNN. Taylor Blake, the emu's owner, gained notoriety after she started recording videos of life on her little farm, Knuckle Bump Farms, in south Florida. Emmanuel frequently stopped Blake's films of other animals so that he could peck at the camera, resulting in millions of views.

Blake detailed the "huge disaster" brought on by an avian flu outbreak at her farm in a lengthy Twitter thread that she uploaded on Saturday.

The virus was brought onto the property by wild geese, according to her. Over the course of three days, more than fifty of her birds perished, three of them emus.

Then, she writes, Emmanuel caught the sickness on Wednesday.

"At this time, he is steady. He no longer refuses to eat or drink on his own, but his neurological symptoms have lessened," she noted. Every two hours, I hand-feed him and administer subcutaneous fluids to him.

He is a warrior, and I have complete faith that he will recover fully.

According to Blake, the emu's right leg and foot have nerve damage. Blake shared pictures of the sling she and her girlfriend created to aid with his recovery of leg function.

Blake noted that the only birds left on the property are Emmanuel and Rico, a swan. Along with other animals, the facility is home to cows, deer, and pigs.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, a highly infectious strain of avian influenza has been identified in wild birds in 32 counties in Florida since January 2022. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that as of Friday, the illness has afflicted about 50 million birds.