Can Emus Walk Backwards?

It is believed that ostriches can walk backward but Emus do not. However, no one has seen any of the said big birds walking backward.

It creates a lot of confusion among the bird enthusiasts, why do not these birds display a playful mood by walking backward? Whether they can not walk backward or they do not do it out of habit? Ostrich’s case is discussed previously. Since Emus’ case is still needed to be addressed, so why not today?

Can Emus Walk Backwards?

It is widely believed that Emus can move backward, it’s Ostriches that can not walk backward. However, this is not true at all, both ostriches and Emus can not walk backward at all. Frankly, not even one supporter of the idea that Emus can walk backward might have seen the said bird moving backward flawlessly.

Emus can neither walk nor run backward

Like the closely related big bird Ostrich, Emus are no doubt, powerful runners. However, the said bird can only walk and run forward, moving backward is impossible for the Emus for some doubtful reasons.

Even if emus are commanded to take step backs slowly, they would not be able to do that;
It’s “really” not clear if the emus do not walk back out of habit or their body structure is to be blamed.

Since they have never tried walking back even if we try to encourage them to take a step back slowly, the bird still might not be able to take it.

Can continuous guidance and practice make emus walk backwards?

Well, it is believed that nothing in the world is unachievable. If we pick up the books of history there would be millions of stories where courage and practice have turned coal into a diamond.

So if we try to judge the situation this way, it seems possible that continuous practice can make emus capable of walking backward.

As far as the Emus case is concerned, If the said bird can not walk backward because of its unique body structure, practice might not help.

However, if they do not walk backward out of habit practice can help the said poor birds.

If ostriches can not walk backward how would emus be capable of that?

Ostriches and Emus resemble a lot. They have a lot in common as well. If the ostriches, despite being a powerful birds, can neither take a flight nor walk backward. How would emus be strong enough to do that?

Let alone walking, Emus can not even take a step backward

It has been observed that Emus can not even take one or two steps backward. So, how would this poor bird be walking backward when it can not even take a step back.

If the Emus can not walk backward, how did the misconception arise?

Well, we live in a world where it’s super easy to make someone guilty of something he/she never did.

It’s “really” not that hard for anyone to trick us into thinking that Emus can walk backward. Moreover, there are some videos on YouTube that have made people believe that Emus can “actually” walk backward. Emus and ostriches are the two big birds that can neither take a step back nor a flight.

Emus can not walk backward for more or less the same reasons

Most of the experts think that Emus can not walk backward because of the knee joint. The knee joint prevents the poor bird from walking backward.

The said birds can walk forward at a great speed flawlessly because of the presence of calf muscles.

However, no legitimate proof has been presented yet if the Emus and Ostriches are incapable of walking backward because of the only suggested reason.

There is another belief why Emus can not walk backward and that’s the knee being fused with the ankle.

I believe that there can be some other reasons as well however that the ankle and knee structure would also surely be contributing to this inability.

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There are only a few birds that can walk backwards

What must not be forgotten is that not all birds are incapable of walking backward. Some birds have been blessed with this ability, Emus and ostriches are not one of them.

The two birds that can walk backward are parrots and hummingbirds. These birds get often noticed walking backward when they are in a playful mood.

Lastly, not being able to walk backward does not help or harm the bird

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Conclusion

All the birds that can walk backward have never escaped better than the birds that can not. This ability neither help nor harm the birds. So, even if emu can not walk backward, it’s fine as it is not going to harm the bird anyway.

In brief, emus can not walk backward at all. It’s probably because of the knee joint or knee being fused with the ankle. These are two major reasons that get the blame.