カリフォルニアのエミュ

先ずは、墨西哥国境に近いカリフォルニア州南部の野火を巡って;


Rory Carroll “California wildfire triples in size as heatwave looms” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/17/wildfires-california-santa-barbara-new-mexico
Associated Press “New wildfires erupt in California as heatwave strikes west coast” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/20/west-coast-heatwave-wildfires-california-new-mexico


さて、米墨国境附近では、(濠太剌利原産の)エミュ*1が野火から逃げている写真が撮影されたり、捕まったりしている;


Julia Carrie Wong “Flight of the emu: story of the big bird photographed fleeing California wildfire” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/23/emu-runs-away-california-wildfire-san-diego
Hoa Quach “Man Allegedly Fires Shotgun as Crews Try to Rescue Emu from Wildfire” http://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2016/06/21/man-arrested-firing-gun-crews-rescue-emu-border-fire/


しかし、何故濠太剌利のエミュがカリフォルニアに? 実はサン・ディエゴでは1990年代に「エミュ・ブーム」とでもいうべきものが起っていたのだという。Julia Carrie Wongの記事によれば、


The emu in the photograph is likely a leftover from the emu craze of the 1990s. The world’s second largest bird, emus are farmed for their lean meat, giant green eggs, double feathers, and the oil derived from their fat. Adherents to emu oil, which is applied to the skin, ascribe it near mystical powers.

“I’m 72 years old, and if you look at my skin, you would think I’m 45,” said Willi Seeger, owner of Rancho San Diego Emus.

Seeger was one of about 60 ranchers in San Diego county who got into the emu business 20-some years ago, and one of just a couple of those still farming emus. “The problem is you have people who were looking to make a quick buck, not looking to do the hard work involved.”

Seeger, whose ranch is about 30 miles from the site of the border fire, is fairly certain that the wildfire emu is someone’s pet, because he’s not aware of any emu farmers in that area. The birds do make good pets, he said, as long as the owner has an acre or two of land.

ところで、2009年に日本の宮城県大崎市岩出山にカンガルーが出没するという噂が流れていたのだが*2、その後どうなったのかは全然知らず。