Emmanuel, the TikTok-famous emu, is sick with deadly avian flu, his caretaker says

• TikTok-famous emu Emmanuel has contracted avian influenza after wild birds visited his farm.
• His caretaker, Taylor Blake, said the farm lost 99% of its birds over the course of three days.

Emmanuel, the TikTok-famous emu, has contracted avian influenza, his caretaker Taylor Blake shared to Twitter on Saturday.

According to Blake, Emmanuel fell ill after a flock of wild Egyptian geese visited her farm, Knuckle Bump Farms in southern Florida. Shortly after, said Blake, she lost over 50 birds over the course of three days in a "massive tragedy" to the virus — including every chicken, duck, and goose.

Emmanuel is one of two survivors of the virus that ran through the farm, though after thinking they were "out of the woods," the emu unexpectedly also showed symptoms on Wednesday.

Emmanuel first gained the attention of TikTokers when he pecked at his owner's phone in an early @knucklebumpfarms educational video, which would become a theme of Blake's TikTok account. A July 8 TikTok of Emmanuel peering close to Blake's phone — seemingly about to peck, as Blake says "Emmanuel, don't do it!" — has been viewed over 13 million times. Knuckle Bump's TikTok account has more than 2.4 million TikTok followers and videos of Emmanuel figure prominently on its account.

@knucklebumpfarms Not a day goes by that Emanuel doesn’t try my life #emu #emusoftiktok #farmlife ♬ original sound - Knuckle Bump Farms

Since first announcing his illness, Blake has posted some positive updates. A vet was able to "sedate and stabilize" the emu, and Blake and her girlfriend created a sling for Emmanuel to begin physical therapy. On Sunday, she told followers that she left the emu in one position, but returned to find him sitting up and facing the opposite direction later in the day.

"HE REPOSITIONED HIMSELF, BY HIMSELF! This is huge!" — she tweeted. Later that day, she shared that Emmanuel drank water on his own for the first time since becoming ill.

EMMANUEL JUST DRANK WATER BY HIMSELF FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE BECOMING ILL Please keep the prayers coming! pic.twitter.com/nieSFKtkFB

— eco sister (@hiitaylorblake) October 16, 2022

But Emmanuel's condition still appears to be touch-and-go. On October 17, Blake said Emmanuel's neck was "presenting a bit twisted," a condition reportedly common in baby emus, but said that her avian specialist had never dealt with "wry neck" in adults. Blake tweeted a plea for help to Bindi, Robert, and Terri Irwin, offering to pay to fly anyone to the farm to help save her emu.

"He needs someone experienced in physical therapy," she wrote. "I am also open to any other methods of treatment: acupuncture, UV therapy, chiropractic, hydrotherapy, etc. I just need someone with expertise. PLEASE HELP."

Experts say the current avian influenza outbreak is the worst in the US since 2015, and Blake tweeted that she had been in contact with the state, and that "they believe all of the standing water after Hurricane Ian made the virus run rampant."