An Australian outback pub has banned two emus for “bad behaviour” after the pair created havoc inside.
Yaraka Hotel, in Queensland, has now erected barriers after the flightless birds learnt how to climb up the front stairs.
Locals and tourists had previously been amused by the antics of the emus eager to steal food from people in the region, which has a permanent population of 18.
But things took a turn last week when two of the birds, which have been named Carol and Kevin, walked in and bumped "into everything", publican Chris Gimblett said.
“They’ve learnt to walk up the front steps of the hotel, which has been causing just a few issues,” he said added, referring to the amount of waste they produce.
"When emus get a fright, they head in a forward direction but are normally looking behind so they can’t see where they’re going and this is where chaos can happen.
“They bump into everything.”
Mr Gimblett said he solved the problem by stringing a rope across the top of the stairs. The inquisitive emus are not yet clever enough to duck under the rope to get inside the pub.
While Australian pubs occasionally have a parrot in the bar, emus are not indoor birds.
Visitors staying at the Yaraka trailer park have been surprised by the lengths emus will go to steal food, including pecking a fried egg off a barbecue plate.
“They will lean through the (trailer) door with their long necks and pluck toast out of the toaster,” the publican said.
“If you’ve got a mug of coffee on the little table by the door, they will drink all the coffee, without spilling it I might add. You just discover that your mug’s empty. They’re just eating machines,” he added.
There used to be eight emus in Yaraka.
A resident rescued eggs from an abandoned nest in 2018 and hatched them with the help of an electric blanket.
But all except Carol and Kevin have moved on, apparently in search of mates.
“We’re in lockdown mode,” Mr Gimblett said of his barricaded pub.
“At least it’s emus and not coronavirus.”
