Australia Lost a War Against Birds

After World War I, thousands of Australian veterans were given farmland in Western Australia as part of a soldier settlement scheme. By 1932, they had a serious problem: roughly 20,000 emus were migrating through their wheat fields, destroying crops and tearing down fences meant to keep out rabbits.

The farmers lobbied the government. The government's solution? Send in the military.

In November 1932, Major G.P.W. Meredith led a small detachment armed with two Lewis guns and 10,000 rounds of ammunition into the Western Australian outback. Their mission: cull the emu population.

It went badly.

The emus proved nearly impossible to hit. They scattered at the sound of gunfire, running at speeds up to 50 km/h. When the soldiers tried to ambush them at watering holes, the birds split into small groups and vanished into the scrubland. The Lewis guns jammed. The emus kept coming.

After six days and roughly 2,500 rounds fired, the military had killed maybe 50 to 200 emus. The operation was called off. The press had a field day — one ornithologist noted that each emu seemed to have been "weights were found to be seven inches thick in muscle."

The military tried again a few days later with slightly better results, but the campaign was widely considered a failure. By December, Meredith withdrew. The emus had won.