Pass the cigars!
“One egg is beginning to wiggle,” reports Jim Sirch, education coordinator
In a release, the Peabody Museum of Natural History said the emu eggs incubating there "will reach the end of their 7-8 week (50 day) gestation period around March 11 and will begin hatching thereafter."
"Visitors will be able to watch the baby emus poke their beaks through the dark blue-green eggs and break out of their shells," the release said. "As birds are a lineage of living dinosaurs, seeing emus hatch provides a chance to reflect on the hatching of dinosaur eggs millions of years ago. The Peabody incubator contains fertile eggs from the Songline Emu Farm in Gill, Massachusetts. The emu incubator and nursery are located in the Tiny Titans exhibition hall."
Further, the release said:
"The emu incubator and nursery are also viewable online at http://peabody.yale.edu/
Also in the release:
"The emu is a member of the
ratite group of flightless birds, which includes the ostrich, kiwi, and
cassowary. Ratites share more features with dinosaurs than other
present-day birds. The national bird of Australia,
it roamed the outback some 80-million years ago. Emus are curious and
docile. At birth they are about 10-inches tall with black and white
stripes. The mature emu is 5 to 6 feet tall and normally weighs 90 to
140 pounds with a life span in the wild of 5 to
10 years. They are strong runners reaching ground speeds of up to 40
miles per hour in short bursts. Emus have a diverse diet, feeding on
seeds, fruits, young plant shoots, caterpillars and other small animals."
General Museum Information
Open Monday to Saturday, from 10 to 5, and Sunday from noon
to 5. All programs and exhibits are free with admission unless
otherwise noted. Admission is $9 adults, $8 seniors 65+, $5 children
3-18 and students with I.D. Admission is free
for everyone on Thursdays from 2-5 pm from September through June. Wheelchair accessible.
Editor's note: All information and the photo in
this post were contributed.
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