When Birds Outsmarted Humans: 4 Logistics Lessons from the Great Emu War

Image description: close-up of an emu’s face

In 1932, a group of humans went to war with a bunch of emus. The emus won. No, that’s not a joke. Humans literally lost a war to 20,000 birds. 

How does that happen? Well, it turns out that emus are a lot smarter and stronger than they look. And maybe they’re bitter about being birds that can’t fly. 

The humans also made a ton of logistical mistakes. We think we can learn from those mistakes. So, in the interest of learning from the past, let’s take a look at the four things humans did wrong in the Great Emu War. 

1. The Humans Underestimated the Power of Supply and Demand  

image description: a wheat field and a blue sky

It all started right after WWI. The Australian government wanted to encourage farming, so they gave some land to returning veterans. They also promised that they’d pay these veterans to grow wheat. Naturally, the wheat crop was very large that year.

The government, however, failed to follow through on their promise. Now, these people were just stuck with a whole bunch of wheat. 

You know who apparently likes wheat? Emus. The large, flightless bird similar to ostriches. Those birds wreaked absolute havoc on the wheat crops, destroying fences and clearing the path for rabbits, who evidently also enjoy wheat. 

So, the first mistake was on the part of the Australian government: They underestimated the power of supply and demand. As the amount of wheat skyrocketed, it suddenly became way less valuable to humans. Unfortunately, it was still extremely valuable to emus, whose economy is very different from ours. 

Supply and demand is a powerful thing. It can disrupt entire economies and usher in an army of birds. 20,000 of them. 

2. They Forgot the Importance of Route Planning  

image description: a world map with several pins throughout

One of the most impressive things about the Great Emu War was the route planning…by the emus. The humans didn’t do as well as the birds here.

Once the emus attacked, the townspeople asked the Australian government for backup, plus artillery and ammunition. This time, the government obliged. And so begins the Emu War. 

Now, emus know a thing or two about logistics because they’re migratory birds. Like a good freight broker, they understand efficiency, and they know how to maximize it. Which brings us back to the wheat crops.

The birds saw the cleared land, easy access to food, and new water supply, and they said to themselves, “You know what? This seems like a good place to stay.” This decision was obviously very inconvenient for the humans. But if you look at it from the birds’ point of view, you have to admit that it was a very logical decision. 

This is the epitome of route planning. They found a way to make their route a lot shorter, and then they followed through. If you were an emu, it was a very successful endeavor. 

They also did some impressive route planning once the war began. They broke off into smaller groups, like shippers increasing their load frequency. 

To quote an army member who was interviewed by a local newspaper , “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 and warns them of our approach.” 

The humans forgot the importance of route planning until it was too late. You can still blame the Australian government here. We’re not saying that they should have anticipated 20,000 birds specifically, but you’d think they’d know that an absurd amount of wheat might attract an absurd amount of animals. 

3. They Didn’t Hire the Right Logistics Broker 

image description: a red sign with white lettering that reads: “wrong way”

We take pride in a lot of things here at Pearce Worldwide. We’re proud of being a family-owned business. We’re proud to go above and beyond for our clients. One of our biggest points of pride? Not one single member of our Pearce family has ever lost a war to a bunch of birds who can’t even fly. 

We didn’t know that we were proud of that fact until very, very recently. Because there’s at least one Pearce family who can’t make the same claim: the family of one Sir George Pearce. Yes, Sir George. This man had achieved knighthood, and he lost to an army of birds. Twice. Did we mention that there was a second attempt at getting rid of the emus? A second battle, if you will. The emus won that battle, and the war. 

4. They Didn’t Plan or Think on Their Feet  

image description: the up-close face of an emu staring directly at the camera

Out of curiosity, we decided to look up the size of an emu’s brain. It’s 22 grams, by the way, or about the size of a mouse. But it turns out that the size of one’s brain has nothing to do with intelligence. We learned this from an article titled, and we quote, “Scientists looked inside bird brains and found they’re far more sophisticated than yours.” 

The human troops in the Great Emu War obviously didn’t know that. 

We don’t blame them for it, either. We don’t like to judge a book by its cover, but come on. Look at an emu and tell us whether you think it could outwit a human. Even so, losing the first battle to these birds should have given the humans a clue. They might have planned better for the next round, or they might have adapted their strategy when they saw the bird troops divide themselves into factions. They didn’t do either of these things. 

A Logistics Service that Has Never Lost a War to Emus 

Like we said, the team here at Pearce Worldwide has never been outsmarted by birds. To be fair, we’ve never had to go to war with them. But much like an emu, we know a thing or two about effective logistics. And unlike the humans involved in the Great Emu War, we’re experts in planning, adapting, and supply and demand. If you’re looking for a team that can help your business stay at least as efficient as a large flightless bird, get in touch with us today.