After receiving the first reports of emu sightings on Tuesday morning, August 24, Moore County Animal Control spent three hours trying to catch the elusive bird. Responding again on Thursday afternoon, officers and neighbors scoured the area and, after a lengthy search, the bird was located. Officers engaged in a second mad dash through the heavy woods and wetlands on the far border of Seven Lakes North. After tripping on vines, the emu was eventually secure; but, unfortunately, by then heat and stress had taken their toll.The emu was put in a horse trailer for transportation; and officers poured water over him, improved airflow in the trailer, and even attempted CPR, but it wasn’t enough to save the bird.
“This makes me mad and was the one thing I was afraid of when we were getting it down there running,” said Animal Control Officer Bryant Voss. “It was way too hot, way too humid, and it just stressed him more than he could handle.”
Voss explained that he was anxious to capture the bird because of the frenzy of calls received and published accounts of the emu’s location.
A relatively docile animal, the emu is a native of Australia and can reach six feet, six inches tall. Emus can run thirty miles an hour and their powerful legs and clawed feet can serve as a formidable defensive weapon with a close range kick. While the bird’s plumage can protect them from heat from the sun and they can pant to maintain body temperature, they do not sweat and cannot cool themselves easily.
“My biggest concern was that it could hurt somebody if they tried to grab it. That put a lot of pressure on us,” he said. “We did everything we were supposed to do.”
Voss said a resident of Robbins had reported the escape of an emu, and the Seven Lakes bird is likely to be the escapee, though there is no way to be certain.
