CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — An Australian Outback pub has banned two emus for "bad behavior" after they learned to climb the stairs and created havoc inside.
The two large, flightless birds were already adept at stealing food from people staying at the Yakara Hotel, a lightly populated Queensland state outpost. But things took an intolerable turn when the birds learned how to enter the local pub.
"They've got very sharp beaks and they're a bit like a vacuum cleaner where food is concerned, so we were worried about them going into the dining room and causing havoc," the pub's co-owner Chris Gimblett told CNN Travel.
The pub's operator solved the problem by stringing a rope across the top of the stairs. A sign asks customers to return the rope to its place when they enter.
The birds aren't yet clever enough to get around it.
In an interview with CNN, Gimblett said the pair, named Kevin and Carol, managed to get into the hotel's bar last year after someone left the gate open.
