In 1932, when an estimated 20,000 emus plundered Australia’s vast wheat farms, the military was called in to stop them. The press dubbed this effort the “Emu War.” The emus employed lookouts, giving them time to scatter and minimize the effects of machine gun fire. Eventually the cost of the operation became hard to justify and the campaign became increasingly seen as inhumane, so the military stood down. The emus won the Emu War.