Wildlife photographer Theo Allofs recalls a memorable encounter with an emu chick and its father, in the Sturt National Park in north western NSW.
The first time I visited Sturt National Park in the north western corner of NSW, it was in the grip of a major drought. Each day park rangers were pulling kangaroos out of mud holes after the animals, desperate for water, ventured into the remaining puddles of cloying mud and were too weak to escape by themselves. I didn’t encounter a single kangaroo or emu while I was there.
Returning to the park eight years later, it was hard to believe it was the same place. After years of rain, I was almost shocked by the great abundance of wildlife. Red kangaroos numbers had burgeoned and sleek and healthy emus strutted across the almost lush-looking landscape of golden grass.
I was near one of the many waterholes when I first encountered this male emu with his brood of tiny chicks. I was hiding behind desert shrubs when he appeared on a ridge, peering curiously in my direction. When he seemed convinced that I wasn’t a threat, he beckoned his chicks with a deep rumbling call. I am not exactly sure how many striped offspring there were – six or seven – but I was sure only one them was still alive when I returned to the same waterhole three days later.
Recent rains had enabled native animals to thrive on an abundance of food and water. Unfortunately they were not the only ones. I had little doubt that a feral import was responsible for the missing chicks as, at the same waterhole, I had already encountered both a cat and a red fox.
When I saw this tiny, fragile chick, I had a strong feeling the father – whose legs are pictured here – would be unable to save the life of his last offspring. I am not sure what happened over the next few days, but I never saw the male emu or its chick again.
An emu chick and its father at a watering hole in the Sturt National Park, NSW. Canon EOS 1Ds Mk III, 600mm f4 lens, 1/2000s @ f/5, ISO 200. Photo by Theo Allofs.
Article first published in Australian Photography + digital magazine, July 2014.
