As Australia faces its worst drought in more than 100 years, emus have been seen entering new territories in outback towns in search of sustenance and water.
A woman returning to her family home in Broken Hill in rural NSW—some 935km (580 miles) west of Sydney—found what was a once thriving rural property suffering in the worsening drought.
Footage from a video she captured on July 17 showed mobs of emus running amok on the property in search of water.
Speaking with ABC Radio, Esther McKenzie said the cattle property was unrecognisable.
“The dam was down to less than a metre of water, and that dam is probably the size of a football oval,” McKenzie said.
“There was a whole bunch of emus running around the house trying to find water. When the wind comes it picks up the top layer of dust and it always looks a little bit apocalyptic that way.”
Spokeswoman for Broken Hill Council’s Rescue and Rehabilitation of Australia Native Animals Unit said that normally, five or six emus may be seen but not in the likes of the numbers as of late.
“They’re actually walking down our main street. We’re seeing mobs of them,” she told Reuters.
“We’ve had 14 on a sporting oval. They’ve been out there for weeks—the locals in that area are giving them food and water.”
The emus face risks of being hit by cars on the road, as well as dog attacks.
Federal Funding Boosted to $1.8 Billion
In the ongoing crisis, Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales is now 100 percent in drought.
Rural communities affected by the drought will receive extra funding from the federal government as it significantly ramps up its drought assistance measures for distressed farmers.
Sixty drought-affected councils—36 in New South Wales, 22 in Queensland, and 2 in Victoria—will be given $1 million each to spend on anything from drinking water to building new community facilities.
The measures are part of the $1.8 billion emergency relief package, including $250 million in new money, announced by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Aug. 19 in Forbes, NSW.
With reporting from Epoch Times writer Cathy Zhang and Storyful
