An Emu Was Spotted in Fort Collins, And I Had To Google ‘Emu’

We've had our fair share of wildlife sightings in and around Fort Collins and Northern Colorado throughout 2021, but this was a different type of sighting...mainly because, and I'm going to just call myself out here... I didn't even know what an emu looked like until I googled it and watched this upcoming video. I mean, up until this very moment,  I would NOT have been able to tell you what the animal looked like for certain. I THOUGHT I knew but I really didn't.

Before I go into that, let me tell you about this emu that, according to KDVR,  was spotted on a trail in McMurry Nature Reserve in Fort Collins minding its own business and just enjoying a beautiful fall afternoon in Northern Colorado.

Now, before I even checked out the video of the emu wandering around, I was thinking to myself...I said "Self, do you actually even know what an emu looks like?" To which I answered a swift and firm..."Not exactly."

My initial guess was that it was part of the goat family...and I was dead wrong. I have no idea what made me think it was in the goat family, but I did. I don't consider myself to be an idiot, but I kinda feel like one for not knowing what an emu looked like.

Do you ever go through life thinking you're at least fairly intelligent and something like this pops up and puts you back into your place? Right now, I for sure feel that way...but I digress.

An emu is a really big bird, and it's actually the second-largest living bird (and yes I 100% had to google that too) but to my credit when I DID finally see the bird I thought to myself: "Oh yeah, I DID know what an emu was but just forgot." I just needed a little refresher.

After getting that refresher,  I immediately thought it reminded me of an ostrich and whaddya know?!?!  I was right because it is actually in the ostrich family (YAY, I feel a little redeemed).

So, while I still feel a bit slow for not knowing what an emu was, I feel better because I learned something new today. Granted it was something I probably should have known a long time ago, but I'll take my small wins when I can get them.

Thanks.