Bindi Irwin has responded to a plea from the owner of TikTok famous emu Emmanuel Todd Lopez after the bird contracted avian flu.
Taylor Blake, who runs Knuckle Bump Farms in South Florida, revealed on Twitter this week that all but two of the farm’s birds had died after contracting the deadly avian flu, which she suggested may have been spread by wild Egyptian geese.
In the emotional Twitter thread, Blake then informed her followers that Emmanuel, who gained social media fame through his cameos on the farm’s TikTok account, had fallen sick with the contagious bird flu.
In subsequent posts showing her closely cuddling the sickly bird, which sparked concern from virologists, Blake said that Emmanuel was stable, but revealed that she was seeking help from avian experts regarding his continued care. One of her pleas was directed at 24-year-old Australian conservationist Bindi Irwin, her mother Terri Irwin, and her brother Robert Irwin, who own the Australia Zoo.
“@BindiIrwin @TerriIrwin @RobertIrwin I have been a fan of your family for as long as I can remember, I am reaching out to you in total desperation right now. I need help saving my emu, Emmanuel,” Blake wrote on 17 October. “I will pay to fly anyone to us, if they can help, no questions asked.”
In a follow-up post, Blake explained that she was seeking someone experienced in physical therapy, as the emu was experiencing nerve damage, but was also open to “other methods of treatment,” such as acupuncture, UV therapy, chiropractic and hydrotherapy. “I just need someone with expertise. PLEASE HELP,” she wrote.
Blake’s request for help prompted a response from Bindi, who revealed in a statement shared to Twitter that her “entire family” was “sending love and light” her way, but would be unable to help due to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital’s lack of experience with the disease.
According to Bindi, while the hospital has “treated over 100,000 animals including emus,” it has “never treated an emu with this particular disease”.
“We will need to rely on our fellow animal experts with more experience with this avian flu,” she continued. “Our hearts are with you and we appreciate that you care so deeply and have such compassion for darling Emmanuel. We believe that all of us need to have love for each and every individual animal.”
Bindi concluded the response sharing the family’s hope that “someone who has greater experience in this area can be of assistance”.
“Sending love and light your way from our entire family,” she wrote.
Blake retweeted the statement on her own Twitter, where she added a blue heart emoji and a praying hands emoji. She also expressed her gratitude to Bindi for “taking the time to write” the response.
“Thank you so much for taking the time to write this, Bindi Your response alone means more than you know. Please send my love to your family!” she wrote.
The Irwin family’s response comes after virologists and veterinarians have expressed concern over Blake’s handling of the avian flu outbreak. “This is how zoonotic transmissions occur, this is why entire farms cull sick birds. We live with the threat of pandemic flu,” wrote Boghuma Kabisen Titanij, a doctor and global health and infectious disease researcher at Emory University. “This may seem cute but it’s no different than exposure to bird flu from a bird market or wet market anywhere else in the world. It carries a risk and the public should be educated on this.”
Virologist Angela Rasmussen also condemned the photos of Blake cuddling the infected emu, and urged people not to cuddle or touch birds with avian flu as it could be “extremely dangerous to humans and other animals”.
Amid the warnings, Blake said on Twitter that she has been taking “every precaution recommended by the FDA”.
“Emmanuel is completely isolated and we sanitise before and after entering and exiting his stall. Again, we have been fully compliant with the state. We know the risks and we are abiding by the rules put in place for our farm. Thank you for the love and concern!” she wrote, adding that the emu has been “completely isolated” and that the farm has been placed under a “complete quarantine for 150 days”.
According to an update shared by Blake on Tuesday 18 October, Emmanuel is “showing more strength in his extremities daily” and was able to drink water on his own. However, Blake said that the emu was still unable to fully eat on his own, but that she had been in contact with two individuals with “years of experience with emus” who offered recommendations for the bird’s “neck issues and vitamin deficiency”.
“Each little bit of progress brings me joy, but we aren’t out of the woods yet. This is going to take a lot of love, patience and time,” she wrote.
Birds infected with avian flu, or bird flu, were found in Florida in January 2022, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, while the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reported that more than 47 million birds have been infected by a highly infectious strain of avian influenza.
According to the CDC, while “people rarely get bird flu,” human infections with “bird flu viruses can happen when enough virus gets into a person’s eyes, nose or mouth, or is inhaled”.
The Independent has contacted Blake for comment.
