Stand quietly in the scrub of the Clarence Valley, on the north coast of New South Wales, and you may see them: a tall male emu, with his bright blue neck and careful feet, escorting three chicks.
The chicks, their small bodies striped like humbugs, are a sign of hope. While national emu numbers are stable, this family belongs to a small endangered population of coastal emus. There are fewer than 50 left in the wild.
