Emus are number two on the list of largest birds on Earth. The most common name of this bird is emu, and they normally live in Australia and New Guinea. Also, emus are flightless birds. Like other birds, emus also have a special talents like running fast, swimming, and jumping. Cassowary, another flightless bird, is the closest relative to emus.
The average lifetime of this bird is between 10 to 20 years. The weight of emus can be 60 to 100 pounds. If someone disturbs them, then they can be very dangerous. The average height of emus is between 5.2 to 6.2 feet. But do emus spit? Do they use their spit to defend themselves?
Yes, emus may spit on some occasions, but to defend themselves, they do not use their spit. Some animals, like Spitting Cobras and camels, use their saliva. Camels split when they feel threatened or angry. Some animals do spitting to protect their food. But, emus always use their strong legs, feet, and nails to defend themselves.
Table of Contents
Do emus spit regularly?
Emus are very polite, friendly, and gentle birds and are not considered aggressive birds. Also, spitting is not their habit. But, the interesting fact is that emus have salivary glands in their mouth. Yet, they need to make spit by using that ability.
Another fact, these birds talks very much. They have an Inflatable bag in their mouth, which helps them to communicate. When the bag fills up, an emu makes different sounds, like drumming and booming. These sounds can travel about 2 kilometers.
Emu Habitat and Diet:
The emu’s most common area is mainland Australia; they always avoid populated areas and dense forests. They can easily survive in most habitats all around Australia. But their common areas are savanna woodlands and grasslands.
Emus are omnivores, so their diet consists of flowers, fruit, grasses, seeds, etc. They also eat insects such as ladybirds, caterpillars, ants, etc. They also hunt and eat charcoal. Another fact is that they travel long distances for food. They can travel 500 kilometers on foot.
Do Birds Spit?
Many birds have salivary glands, and they use them to create saliva and use it to break up food. Some birds also use their spit to build up their nests. So birds do but do not commonly spit on other animals and humans. Birds also do not use saliva to defend themselves from their predators.
However, the bird’s name is Turkey Vulture which uses its spit as a defensive method. The turkey vulture is not an attractive-looking bird, but they do spit up to 10 feet as an act of defense.
Other animals that do spit?
Spitting is the most commonly found in many animals, and it’s located in many different species. Many various reasons consist that why animals spit. Some animals spit to defend themselves from their predators.
The female spit to tell the male she is not interested in him. Some animals spit to protect their food. Here is some animals list that spits:
Black-necked spitting cobras:
The black-necked spitting cobra is normally found in sub-Saharan Africa areas. They spit their venom to defend themselves from others or when it feels threatened. They always target the eyes. But, they did not attack humans regularly.
Camels:
Camels are very gentle and polite animals but spit on their attacker when they feel threatened. The spit is mixed with the animal’s stomach bile, which makes an unpleasant and horrible-smelling substance.
Camels are normally found in deserts, with three kinds of the camel. Their weight can be up to 2200 pounds.
Scorpionflies:
Scorpionflies are normally found in gardens or at the edge of wooded areas. They get the scorpion name because their belly is curled over their body, giving them a scorpion-like appearance. These flies are not harmful, and they do not bite humans.
The male fly offers a ball of spit to the female because he wants to mate. So they do spit only for females.
How do emus protect themselves?
Emus usually use their strong legs and claws against the dingoes, the top predators of emus. Emus are big animals, which gives them a great advantage in defense themself. They always provide a healthy and dangerous kick to their predators. They always kick off the neck or head of their predators.
The appearance of male and female emus are quite similar. However, females are generally larger than males in weight. The female weight is more than 11 pounds than the male. Emus cannot fly, but they can run 50 kilometers per hour. The total population of emu all around the world is 725,000.
FAQs:
Do emus spit?
Emus can spit but only on occasion. They do not use their spit to defend themselves. Yet, animals like camels spit to protect themselves.
Are emus dangerous for humans?
Yes, emus can attack humans. There are several cases reported that emus attack humans.
How can emus protect themselves?
Emus use their strong legs and claws to protect themselves from their predators. The top predators of emus are dingoes.