Emmanuel is without a doubt the most well-known emu on the internet thanks to TikTok and its owner. Taylor Blake, the owner of Knuckle Bump Farm in Florida, had posted videos on the social media app of the emu being ruthlessly and cheekily disturbed over and over again. He almost drove his owner insane with it. The exclamation "Emmanuel, don't do it" became a cult on the Internet - and the emu suddenly had fans all over the world.

But now the concerns about the cheekiest emu in the world are great. Emmanuel has contracted bird flu, a disease that is often fatal. The emu has been in bad shape for a few days, fighting for his life. He could not eat or drink himself for several days. He also suffered "minor nerve damage" in his right foot and leg.

After all: Emmanuel is showing the first signs of improvement. On Sunday, Taylor Blake announced on Twitter that he had been drinking on his own for the first time since his illness. "At this point, every step feels like a milestone," she wrote on Twitter. "He's getting stronger every day." Nevertheless, she asked her followers to pray for Emmanuel.

According to Blake, wild geese introduced the virus. With dramatic consequences: "We lost 99 percent of the birds on our farm," reported Blake. More than 50 birds died in just three days. Emmanuel and a swan are the only living birds. All chickens, ducks and geese, however, fell victim to bird flu.

Symptoms of bird flu, also known as avian influenza, include weakness, high fever, difficulty breathing and neurological disorders. Certain types of the virus are also dangerous for humans. In Europe, bird flu is raging particularly badly this year, and the virus is also spreading in the USA.

Sources: Taylor Blake on Twitter / Robert Koch Institute