Emmanuel, mischievous emu of TikTok fame, still ‘fighting for his life,’ owner says

Update: After two negative tests for avian flu, owner Taylor Blake said Oct. 22 on Twitter that Emmanuel the emu seems to be suffering from stress over the elimination of the rest of the farm’s birds due to avian flu. He is recovering.

The original story is below.

Emmanuel, a mischievous emu who became a TikTok sensation for knocking over farmer Taylor Blake’s cameras mid-video, has fallen gravely ill with avian flu.

“I will do anything and go into any amount of debt to save his life,” Blake wrote in a series of Twitter posts Saturday, Oct. 15. “He is a fighter and I wholeheartedly believe he is going to make a full recovery.”

Blake wrote that she believes visiting flocks of hibernating geese infected the birds at Knuckle Bump Farms, a South Florida hobby farm.

“We lost every single chicken and duck on our farm. We lost all of our geese. We lost our 2 female black swans. We lost both of our turkeys,” she wrote.

“We lost 50+ birds in 3 days,” Blake wrote. “I am still trying to wrap my head around it.”

Then Emmanuel went down sometime overnight Wednesday, Oct. 12, Blake wrote. With round-the-clock care, he seems to be recovering but has some nerve damage.

Blake and her girlfriend built an improvised sling to give Emmanuel some physical therapy, but she reported Saturday that he’s still not eating or drinking on his own.

“I know that Emmanuel Todd Lopez will make a full recovery and will continue to spread love, light and joy,” she wrote.

Blake also thanked her girlfriend and Emmanuel’s fans for their support, noting that he still requires round-the-clock care.

“My best friend is fighting for his life, and I’m just doing my absolute best not to crumble into a million pieces,” she wrote.

In later updates, Blake said Emmanuel drank water on his own for the first time and reported a visit from an avian specialist who was “incredibly impressed” by his demeanor and vital signs.

Emmanuel is still receiving fluids and being fed by hand, however.

“One day at a time, Emmanuel will be healed,” Blake wrote, adding the specialist’s visit brought her “a sense of peace I haven’t had since this started.”

Bindi Irwin, whom Blake had earlier asked for help, responded Monday, Oct. 17, that her Australian wildlife team has never treated a case of avian flu.

“Our hearts are with you and we appreciate that you care so deeply and have such compassion for darling Emmanuel,” Irwin wrote.

In another series of Twitter posts, Blake addressed concerns about the possible spread of avian flu, nothing that Emmanuel is isolated from other animals and humans. She said she is following all recommended federal precautions, except for wearing a face mask, which causes him to “freak out.”

Emmanuel gained online fame over the summer for a series of TikTok videos in which the inquisitive emu repeatedly knocked over Blake’s camera as she tried to shoot videos about farm life, McClatchy News reported.

“Emmanuel, don’t do it. Don’t do it, Emmanuel,” Blake warns in many of her TikToks before a black beak appears on screen and the camera topples over.

Blake and her emu went viral on her TikTok account @Knucklebumpfarms, with million of viewers buckling over in laughter at Emmanuel.

In later posts Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 16, Blake thanked Emmanuel’s fans for their outpouring of support but emphasized Knuckle Bump Farms is not seeking donations.

This story was originally published October 18, 2022 at 8:38 AM with the headline "Emmanuel, mischievous emu of TikTok fame, still ‘fighting for his life,’ owner says."