TikTok Famous Emu Emmanuel Catches The Bird Flu, Fights For His Life

An emu, who gained viral fame on TikTok, caught avian influenza on Wednesday and is fighting for his life, according to his caretaker. The emu, known as Emmanuel, has generated millions of views on the social media site for pecking a phone while his owner filmed farming education videos.

The outbreak occurred when a flock of wild Egyptian geese came into contact with the birds on Knuckle Bump Farms in South Florida, which is owned by Emmanuel’s caretaker Taylor Blake. The outbreak killed 99% of the birds on the farm. Emmanuel and Rico the swan are the only survivors.

“I have so much gratitude in my heart that Emmanuel is still alive. That he is fighting. That my best friend is making a comeback. I am going to be ok, we are going to be ok,” Blake posted Saturday on Twitter.

“I will do anything and go into any amount of debt to save his life. My vet came out and was able to sedate and stabilize him until I could find an avian specialist. I have been treating him around the clock since Wednesday,” she added.

Blake explained that it is close to impossible to fully vaccinate birds because of the many different mutated versions of avian influenza.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, avian influenza naturally spreads among wild aquatic birds and “can infect domestic poultry and other bird and animal species.” It is extremely infectious and deadly.

The Department of Agriculture has called the avian influenza outbreak of 2022, “the most costly animal health emergency” in its history.

Emmanuel has been kept in isolation during his healing process.

Blake has shared her process of taking care of Emmanuel on social media, which has included building a sling for him to do physical therapy to regain function in his foot and leg.