Escaped emu runs loose on New York state road

Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Police in New York state responded to a busy road where they captured an emu that escaped through an open gate and went for a run.

Joyce Perry, director of Whispering Willow Wild Care in Guilderland, said the 4-year-old, 140-pound emu, named Sheriff Cody, was being kept at the property temporarily while his owner relocated to the area from Florida when he escaped through a gate that hadn't been properly closed.

Drivers on Carman Road, near the Fort Hunter Fire Department, reported the flightless bird running loose in traffic about 3 p.m. Wednesday.

"He walks right up to the hood of my car and stares me down like he wants to have a gun fight," Mark Grimm, who captured photos of the Australian avian, told the Albany Times Union.

Grimm said the bird was being chased by a lasso-wielding police officer.

"They were chasing after him and he was prancing around," Grimm said.

A Guilderland police dispatcher said Sheriff Cody was safely captured after only about 20 minutes on the loose.