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Enormous Emu LbNA #41194 (ARCHIVED)

Owner:Wisconsin Hiker
Plant date:Jun 15, 2008
Location:
City:Kirkland
County:DeKalb
State:Illinois
Boxes:1
Found by: funrunner
Last found:Jul 15, 2010
Status:FFFFFFFFFaaa
Last edited:May 14, 2016
Last checked/found: 21-JUN-08

Location: eekuawhsiK reviR etatS hsiF and efildliW aerA

Distance/Time: 20-30 minutes

Terrain: Gravel roadway

Note: This is a wildlife area where hunting is allowed at various times throughout the year, particularly the fall. Please check local regulations or signage and/or wear blaze orange if you venture into this area during a hunting period.

The emu is the second largest living bird; only an ostrich is bigger. Normally found in Australia, one of them has surprisingly made her home north of Kirkland. To find her, head north on Kirkland Road, then west on the Forest Preserve road that is just north of the river. Follow the gravel road until you reach another road on the left. Turn left here and take the road a short distance until it ends at a bridge.

Now you’ll be on foot, but you probably won’t be able to keep the pace of an emu. They can sprint at a speed of 30 mph! Well the one that lives here has raced ahead of you. To find her, you must cross the bridge and enter the KRSFaW area. The enormous emu that lives here is at the top of the charts – she has a height of 6.5’ and weighs 120 pounds. Even though emus are valued for meat, oil and leather, the hunter sign-in station you will pass is luckily for turkeys, not emus. That means your curious bird is probably still here. Her large size is due to the fact that she has found a variety of plants to eat in this area in addition to many insects - including grasshoppers and crickets, caterpillars, and ants. After the road curves to the right some piles of large bleached trees will appear on your right. This looks like a good area to raise a family. Interestingly, after the female lays some eggs (11-20!), it is the male emu that incubates the eggs. While doing so, he does not eat, drink or defecate, and stands only to turn the eggs, which he does about 10 times a day. Over eight weeks of incubation, he will lose a third of his weight and will survive only on stored body-fat and on any morning dew that he can reach from the nest. While the male is taking care of the eggs, the female mates with other males and may lay in multiple clutches. After the chicks hatch, the male stays with them for up to 18 months, defending them and teaching them how to find food. In the wild, emus live between 10 to 20 years. Today the local bird is alone, waiting for visitors. To find this curious creature, go to the tallest pile of trees and look in the front center opening. After making her acquaintance, please tuck her in carefully so she can wait for a mate, or another letterboxer.

Status reports about how the emu is doing would be greatly appreciated, since we don’t live nearby and won’t be able to check on her ourselves. Thanks!


Hike length: 0.5 miles