Escaped emu captured after 5 days on the loose in S.C.

Sept. 18 (UPI) -- A woman who recently moved to South Carolina was able to meet her new neighbors due to unusual circumstances -- searching for her lost emu.

Barbara Kennedy, who moved to Swansea about a week ago, said her 6-month-old emu, Bird Bird, managed to escape the new home she shares with her animals, which also include pigs, chickens, alpacas, horses and geese.

"He used to walk the fence line and I thought he was fine and then I looked an hour later and he was gone," Kennedy told WLTX-TV.

Kennedy said she searched for Big Bird for five days.

"That was how I met my neighbors, 'Hello, I have a big bird, where is he?'" Kennedy said.

Kennedy's daughter posted about the missing emu on local Facebook pages, and she received a call from a neighbor about a sighting Sunday morning.

She arrived to find the neighbors had managed to close Big Bird into their yard.

Kennedy said she will install a new fence to keep Big Bird contained.

An escaped emu was captured last week in Lakeville, Mass., after more than two weeks on the loose. Lakeville Animal Control said the emu escaped while its owners were preparing to move out of town and they ended up having to leave the bird behind.

The emu was safely captured and will be placed in a new home.