Home Topics Wildlife Earnest Ed awaits love’s return

Earnest Ed awaits love’s return

Ed the faithful emu. Image credit: Benjamin Horgan

When photographer Benjamin Horgan spotted an emu hunkered down on a nest in south-west Western Australia little did he know he’d discovered a love story that persists beyond the grave.

Ed, 26, has continued to brood on an empty nest during breeding season, despite his mate dying two years ago.

The pet emu of farmer Rino Guidi, Ed and his mate were bought and released into a paddock at Kojonup.

“He’s been sitting down,” Mr Guidi said. “He thinks he’s got eggs underneath him, but he ain’t. I put chicken eggs under him once, for a trial. It didn’t work.”

Benjamin says he was driving along the Albany Highway when he spotted the emu. “It was beautiful drive, canola fields were blooming in all directions, and then I saw him. He didn’t flinch when I approached. He just stared, seemingly unperturbed.

“I usually shoot with my Canon Eos 80D however I took this shot of Eddie on my iPhone 11.”

Male emus perform the incubation of eggs, often without drinking, feeding, defecating or leaving the nest for weeks.

The male emu then raises the chicks for four to six months.

Sadly, there’ll be no chicks for Ed, which makes us adore him all the more. Here’s to devotion.

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