In this episode, we ruin (and somehow simultaneously enhance) our first animal, the emu. Larkin tells us terrifying facts about these giant dinosaur birds, then goes into the story of the “Emu War” that took place in post-WWI Australia. It’s a distinctly fun episode that will also depress you with stories of trench warfare and, as ever, colonialism.
References
https://www.science.org/content/article/why-did-new-zealands-moas-go-extinct
https://www.britannica.com/animal/elephant-bird
https://www.britannica.com/animal/moa
https://www.britannica.com/animal/emu
https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/emu
https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/first-world-war
https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/birds/the-emu-war-of-1932
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/australian-emu-war-history
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/soldier-settlement
https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/conscription/ww1
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yeoman
https://www.etymonline.com/word/yeoman
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/aboriginal-australians
https://www.historyhit.com/the-great-emu-war/
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Emu-War
https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/evidence-of-first-peoples
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/january-26/australia-day
https://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/aboriginals
https://www.aboriginalcontemporary.com.au/pages/what-is-the-dreamtime-and-dreaming
https://www.mabonativetitle.com/info/dreamingCreatures.htm
https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/sciencecomma/2017/05/17/emus-in-space/
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