Avian flu on a farm in Florida
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TikTok emu Emmanuel in shock
Emu Emmanuel looks aggressively into the camera. (archive photo)
Photo: https://unsplash.com/@jonathun
Florida The flightless bird, which had become known on the Internet, collapsed in the middle of the night. Bird flu broke out on the farm where he lives. For days it was unclear whether he would survive.
Emu Emmanuel Todd Lopez, who became famous on the TikTok video platform, is currently recovering from a major shock. Bird flu had hit the Knuckle Bump Farm in Florida, where the animal lives. Countless animals had to be killed, Emmanuel collapsed shortly afterwards and stopped eating and drinking. There was a suspicion that he too had been infected with the pathogen.
Taylor Blake, who looks after the animals, gave the all-clear on Twitter. The test for bird flu in two different laboratories was negative. Apparently the stress on the farm had caused the animal to collapse. “He was incredibly overwhelmed when the state came and put our flock to sleep. (…) He stopped eating the day the animals were euthanized,” Blake wrote.
In the middle of the night, the large ratite fell to the ground and was unable to drink or eat on its own for several days. More than 50 birds had fallen victim to the measure to contain bird flu.
In the meantime, Emmanuel is slowly getting better. A recent video shows the animal making its first attempts to stand up on its own.
Emu Emmanuel had caused a worldwide sensation as he repeatedly cheated his way into the court’s TikTok videos and also pecked at the camera.