World’s oldest emu Emma dubbed ‘grumpy previous man’ dies aged 44 as tributes paid

Emma the emu was sent to a Lincolnshire wildlife centre more than four decades ago but, aged 44, he died in his sleep, believed to be the oldest emu in the world

An emu, dubbed “grumpy old man” and believed to have been the oldest in the world, has died in the UK aged 44. Emma, a male Emu, was brough to Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary and Wildlife Centre, Lincolnshire, from the Netherlands in 1980.

When he first arrived, zookeepers thought he was a girl emu. Although they were shocked to find out he was in-fact a boy, they decided that the name had “already stuck” so kept him as Emma.

Emma put in a good shift as the flightless bird was two months away from turning 45. Emu’s only live, on average, between 25 and 28 years.

When he arrived, the young bird was only 2ft tall, but after more than four decades at the zoo, he stood at around 6ft. Dennis Drew, 41, Trustee at Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary and Wildlife Centre said the park “lost a member of its family”.

Drew said that Emma was a real character in the zoo. He said: “Sometimes he was happy other times he was a grumpy old man it depended on the day. But as he got older he calmed down and became more timid and tame. Though, he was a cheeky chap always trying to steal things out of the keepers buckets.”

He added: “Emma had been here at the park for so long, so in losing him we lost someone very close to us all.”

Emma died in his sleep on March 9 marking and incredible 44 years and ten months at the zoo. According to Drew, the birds favourite actives where splashing around in mud baths and showering.

Visitors also enjoyed watching Emma. Drew said: “He would happily follow the visitors when they would walk past his enclosure. I’m sure he will be missed very dearly.”

In a Facebook post, Mablethorpe Seal Sanctuary & Wildlife Centre said: “He was a very cheeky chappy always trying to steal things out of the keepers buckets.

He loved a shower during the summer and paddling in muddy puddles after his shower.

We hope that he is enjoying all of the sunshine and muddy puddles over the rainbow bridge.”

In 2020, it was believed the world’s oldest emu was Pepe, a 58-year-old from Australia. He was kept on a family farm in Valencia Creek in the Australian state of Victoria. The species hails from Australia, where the first recorded sighting was in 1696.

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