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Well, the birds won the Great Emu War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War

by fhars 3y ago

hnbad 3y ago
The birds also won the war on sparrows: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_campaign https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_campaign Two nations fought wars on birds and lost. That should be a lesson.
- TeMPOraL 3y ago
  > Two nations fought wars on birds and lost. That should be a lesson. Indeed. Prosperity of a people, whether in terms of wealth, happiness, or exterminating all the pesky little critters, is achieved not through violent conflict, but by steadily and patiently growing the economy. Industry, not anger, is what extincts species.
  - jyounker 3y ago
    So true. So sad.
- jaredhallen 3y ago
  Little known fact about birds - they can fly.
cvccvroomvroom 3y ago
Sadly, humans won a pyric victory hunting tens of billions of passenger pigeons to extinction. It's a good thing emus are hardier than dodos.
supertimor 3y ago
Some gems from the wiki: “By the fourth day of the campaign, army observers noted that "each pack seems to have its own leader now—a big black-plumed bird which stands fully six feet high and keeps watch while his mates carry out their work of destruction [of the fields] and warns them of our approach". “By 8 November, six days after the first engagement, 2,500 rounds of ammunition had been fired.The number of birds killed is uncertain: one account estimates that it was 50 birds, but other accounts range from 200 to 500, the latter figure being provided by the settlers. Meredith's official report noted that his men had suffered no casualties.” After the withdrawal, Major Meredith had said: “If we had a military division with the bullet-carrying capacity of these birds it would face any army in the world ... They can face machine guns with the invulnerability of tanks.“ And Ornithologist Dominic Serventy had commented that: “The machine-gunners' dreams of point blank fire into serried masses of Emus were soon dissipated. The Emu command had evidently ordered guerrilla tactics, and its unwieldy army soon split up into innumerable small units that made use of the military equipment uneconomic. A crestfallen field force therefore withdrew from the combat area after about a month.” TLDR; Emus are badass warriors

Well, the birds won the Great Emu War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War

by fhars 3y ago

Well, the birds won the Great Emu War. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War

The birds also won the war on sparrows: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_campaign https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Pests_campaign Two nations fought wars on birds and lost. That should be a lesson.

TeMPOraL 3y ago
> Two nations fought wars on birds and lost. That should be a lesson. Indeed. Prosperity of a people, whether in terms of wealth, happiness, or exterminating all the pesky little critters, is achieved not through violent conflict, but by steadily and patiently growing the economy. Industry, not anger, is what extincts species.
- jyounker 3y ago
  So true. So sad.
jaredhallen 3y ago
Little known fact about birds - they can fly.

cvccvroomvroom 3y ago

Sadly, humans won a pyric victory hunting tens of billions of passenger pigeons to extinction. It's a good thing emus are hardier than dodos.

supertimor 3y ago

Some gems from the wiki: “By the fourth day of the campaign, army observers noted that "each pack seems to have its own leader now—a big black-plumed bird which stands fully six feet high and keeps watch while his mates carry out their work of destruction [of the fields] and warns them of our approach". “By 8 November, six days after the first engagement, 2,500 rounds of ammunition had been fired.The number of birds killed is uncertain: one account estimates that it was 50 birds, but other accounts range from 200 to 500, the latter figure being provided by the settlers. Meredith's official report noted that his men had suffered no casualties.” After the withdrawal, Major Meredith had said: “If we had a military division with the bullet-carrying capacity of these birds it would face any army in the world ... They can face machine guns with the invulnerability of tanks.“ And Ornithologist Dominic Serventy had commented that: “The machine-gunners' dreams of point blank fire into serried masses of Emus were soon dissipated. The Emu command had evidently ordered guerrilla tactics, and its unwieldy army soon split up into innumerable small units that made use of the military equipment uneconomic. A crestfallen field force therefore withdrew from the combat area after about a month.” TLDR; Emus are badass warriors