(CNN) – Two cheeky emu brothers named Kevin and Carol were kicked out of a hotel in Australia’s Outback for bad behavior.
Co-owner Chris Gimblett tells CNN Travel that emus were once welcome visitors and occasionally popped up for some cookies. Then they learned to climb stairs.
“Travelers have to be very cautious with emus, because they poke their heads out the door of a caravan and drink all the coffee without spilling the cup and steal the toast, and if you have a barbecue, be careful because they will take everything,” he says.
“When they finish eating breakfast in the trailer park, they go down to the hotel, and last week they figured out how to climb the hotel stairs.”
Last year, emu brothers Kevin and Carol managed to access the Yaraka hotel bar.
The Yaraka hotel / Facebook
As a result, they had to put a chain rope across the top of the steps, along with a sign that said, “Emus has been kicked out of this establishment for misbehavior. Please go through the EMU barrier and then go back to connect you. ”
Why the ban? Gimblett says, “You don’t want to get between an emu and food.”
“They have very sharp beaks and are a bit like a vacuum cleaner when it comes to food, so we were concerned that they would come into the dining room and wreak havoc,” he explains.
And then there are the aftermath.
“Because they eat too much food, their bathroom habits are so prevalent … imagine a sloppy bowl of porridge flipping it from a height of one meter; the splash is very effective.”
At a height of up to 1.9 meters (6.2 feet), the emu is the tallest native bird in Australia and one of the largest bird species in the world, according to the conservation group Birdlife Australia. Emus are related to ostriches and another native Australian bird, the cassowary.
“They’re not terribly easy to use, they don’t like being patted, but they agree to stroking their necks for a bit.” says Gimblett of emus.
The small Yaraka Hotel has only four rooms, as well as camps and a pub.
The Yaraka hotel / Facebook
This is not the first time that the brothers have caused mischief. Last year, before they learned to climb the front steps, someone left a door open, giving them access to the hotel from the back.
“One went in and out behind the bar and the other went in and stood in front of him,” says Gimblett.
As for the origins of the emus, he says it all started about two years ago, when eight eggs, apparently abandoned, were found in the city and delivered to a wildlife lover.
“He wrapped them in blankets and, some time later, he heard squeaks coming from inside the eggs, so he hit them with a spoon and they hatched,” says Gimblett, who moved to Yaraka in the 1990s with his wife Gerry after sell your business in Brisbane
“Some of the emus went on excursions, and we were left with two who are permanent residents here in the city. Kevin and Carol are their names, but Carol ended up being a man.”
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