The Aussie version of an ostrich:
Have you heard the one about an emu walking into a bar?
For one Central Queensland hotel owner, it's no joke.
The Yaraka Hotel, in the tiny town of the same name south of Longreach, has made headlines for its recent sign on the door expressly banning emus from entering on account of past "bad behaviour".
Owner Chris Gimblett told nine.com.au it had become necessary after the town's two pet big birds had learned to navigate the steps indoors."The trouble with emus is, they can be somewhat stupid," he said. "And if we have a full dining room, which we often get here, they can scare quite easily."
But there was another, somewhat messier reason for the decision too.
"They do have an issue with toiletry," Mr Gimblett laughed.
"They can be a bit indiscriminate about when, and when they dump from a considerable height - I won't go into details, but it is very inconvenient. Especially if I'm the one who has to clean it up."
The emus have an odd history in Yaraka.
Mr Gimblett said a clutch of abandoned emu eggs had been found nearby and taken to the local wildlife carer. She managed to hatch them about 18 months ago, ending up with a brood of eight chicks, which Mr Gimblett said had followed her around as though she were mum. Some grew more adventurous and left, but two - Kevin and Carol (though Carol has since been identified as a male) - stuck around, and were now beloved pets and mascots to the town, which has an official population of 12."They're very friendly, very amusing, and everyone enjoys them," Mr Gimblett said.
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