In the Emu War, the emus would come to farms in great numbers, and eat and destroy the crops leaving nothing behind. The veterans ,who were now farmers, went to the Australian military for help. The army came to a group of about 50 emus and snuck up behind them and started shooting. The emus scattered in all directions to flee. Two days later, another battle much like the first, prompted one soldier to say: “The emus have proved that they are not so stupid as they are usually considered to be. Each mob has its leader, always an enormous black-plumed bird standing fully six-feet high, who keeps watch while his fellows busy themselves with the wheat. At the first suspicious sign, he gives the signal, and dozens of heads stretch up out of the