Only in Australia: Incredible moment an Emu mob makes mad dash across footy field during match

A group of excited emus have been filmed running wildly through a game of Aussie Rules football in the Australian outback.

Footage posted to social media on Saturday shows six of Australia’s largest native birds running erratically through a game of club football.

In the clip, which was believed to have been filmed in Western Australia, the players on the field appear noticeably unfazed by the animals and continue playing the match as normal.

“Outback streakers in local football,” wrote TikTok account Madmonday, which originally uploaded the video.

Amused followers responded in the comments, letting us know how hilarious it was.

“Something I never thought I’d see,” one user posted.

“This is the most fun the AFL will ever have,” joked another.

“An average Australian Sunday afternoon,” said a third.

Emus usually travel alone or in pairs, but sometimes they gather in large groups.

The large birds fly in groups to an area where more food is available.

During the summer months, emus mainly eat seeds, flowers, grass and insects.

Baby emus usually stay with their father for about a year and a half before leaving on their own.

During the mating season, female emus court males and sometimes fight with other females to get to the males.

After the female lays her eggs, she wanders off and may mate with other males.

In other cases she stays to defend the nest with the male until the eggs hatch, and after hatching she leaves the nest.

The sight of the emu herd came about after two brazen emus returned to an outback town after being banned from the local pub.

The animals, Kevin and Carol, terrorised the Yaraka Hotel in Yaraka, south-west Queensland, for months, stealing food, drinks and even car keys from customers.

Two emus, Kevin (pictured) and Carol, once terrorised the Yaraka Hotel in Yaraka, south-west Queensland, stealing food, drinks and even car keys from customers

The Yaraka Hotel, in the remote orange sand desert of south-west Queensland, has erected barricades at its entrances in an attempt to stop the feathered bandits

The emus were so naughty that the owner banned them for life and put up barricades at the entrance to prevent them from slipping in.

The pair are loved by the town’s twenty residents, but disappeared in January.

Leanne Byrne, a Yaraka resident and the emus’ unofficial caretaker, said she had since seen the siblings return to town and one of them had already given birth to four chicks.

Mrs Byrne leaves Yaraka for a few months each year to work, and she says the couple usually return from the bush when she returns.

But the emus failed to return to Yaraka earlier this year after being out for a while in January, and Mrs Byrne struggled to find them.

Mrs Byrne was given nine emu eggs found by local staff, but only Kevin and Carol survived.

The animal lover said the couple, who are brother and sister, “love to cuddle.”

Mrs Byrne hopes the emus will stay out of the city until the chicks are mature and can fend for themselves.

“They’re not my pets. They just stayed, and everyone took care of them, that kind of thing. They’re still wild animals,” she told ABC.