A random emu at a farm in Florida has manage to become one of the most unlikely viral stars to date, gathering a following of more than 1.2 million people on TikTok alone.
The internet continues to throw up bizarre and unexpected surprises, but few could be as much of a curveball as the success of Emmanuel the Emu.
Forget Binley Mega Chippy – although that was a strange couple of days, wasn’t it? – we have now entered the age of Emmanuel, a flightless bird who has risen to prominence through a desire to peck his beleaguered keeper’s camera.
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Emmanuel lives at Knuckle Bump Farms, owned by the family of Taylor Blake.
Here's just a small taste of what the pair get up to.
On the farm, there’s a variety of animals, and Taylor films a variety of videos on TikTok in which she’s clearly trying to make a very educational point but is hamstrung by her menagerie of co-stars.
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What is it they say about working with animals and children?
Well, an entire class of four-year-olds must be easier to deal with than Emmanuel.
Nearly every single video, Emmanuel wanders into shot, and despite repeated pleas from Taylor, begging him ‘Emmanuel, don’t do it’ and asking him not to 'choose violence' he nearly always attacks the phone, sending it to the floor.
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Now, according to one article on the Washington Post – showing the reach that the bird has achieved in such a short time – they’re even planning on releasing Emmanuel merchandise.
Taylor told the Post: “Emmanuel’s just kind of a down-to-earth guy.
“I don’t really think he cares [about being famous].”
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She’s clearly tried to keep his feet on the ground – not difficult for an emu – and ease him into his new-found stardom.
Blake added: “I have talked to him about it a few times, but he hasn’t really had much of a reaction. I think he’s just … adapting to this new life of fame.”
What he doesn’t realise is that tens of thousands of people have been queuing up for Emmanuel content, and they’ve amassed a seven-figure score of followers.
One of their videos has been viewed more than two million times.
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For Blake’s part, she’s been ‘overwhelmed’ by the success of the channel.
She describes what the pair create as ‘fun, lighthearted content, where you’re not having to worry about politics, you’re not having to worry about all the terrible things that are going on in the world right now'.
We could all use a bit more of that.
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Fly high, Emmanuel.
Godspeed.
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Tom Wood