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Escaped emu forces lockdown at Del. elementary schools

Molly Murray
The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
Emu in a farm field in Odessa.

WILMINGTON, Del. — A wayward emu, on the run for the past 66 days, prompted a "soft" lockdown at two Delaware elementary schools earlier this week and has wandered into traffic, outrunning state police, wildlife officials and an exotic animal expert.

Now, its days may be numbered.

The Delaware Department of Agriculture, which oversees exotic animals in the state, has asked wildlife officials and state police to shoot and kill the emu if public safety is at risk.

Daniel Shortridge, a spokesman for the state agricultural agency, said in an email that isn't the preferred solution.

"We're continuing to work with other agencies doing our collective best to catch it," he wrote.

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On Thursday, Dan Stonebraker of 3 Palms Petting Zoo in Clayton plans to try another attempt to capture the bird using nets.

"It's a sight to behold," Stonebraker said of the dark-feathered bird, which stands about 6-feet tall.

Earlier this week, he was close enough to hold the emu and almost had it where he could safely guide it into a waiting trailer.

Then, he said, it spooked and broke free when a well-meaning person came by to investigate on a golf cart.

"Typical capture methods won't work," he said. And after so many weeks on the run, the bird has become accustomed to the rural woods and cutover farm fields where it has been repeatedly spotted in southern New Castle County.

Two grown men could handle the bird if they know what they are doing, Stonebraker said. The problem is finding it and getting close enough to capture it, he said.

On Wednesday, the bird was pecking at corn left from harvest in a cutover field near Odessa. Several people stopped to take pictures of the bird and several captured "selfies" with it. It paid them no mind but was several hundred yards away.

Stonemaker said that while they can kick, "it's not a public threat. We've been trying to get it safely and humanely."

No one is sure to whom the bird belongs, and that is part of the problem, Shortridge said.

"The preferred solution would clearly be to return the emu to its home," he wrote. "But we have contacted known emu owners and been unable to find the bird owner."

Even though no one is claiming the emu, this bird is famous now, Stonemaker said.

Sgt. John McDerby, a spokesman for the state Division of Fish & Wildlife, said that over the last week or so both state police and the state wildlife agency have received a growing number of calls from people who have spotted the bird or come close to hitting it.

"The concern is that it's going to cause a car accident," he said.

Shortridge said that his agency's advice to responders has been that if it becomes necessary to protect public safety, euthanizing the animal would be an option.

But finding it may be difficult.

"It's pretty elusive," he said.

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Emu facts

Native range: Australia, New Guinea, Indonesia, Philippines.

Habitat: Grassy plains, open forests, scrub land.

Fun facts: Emus are flightless. They are the second largest living bird. The ostrich is the largest. They are considered docile.

Life Span: 10 to 20 years in the wild.

Weight: 66 to 121 pounds.

Height: 4.9 to 6.2 feet tall.

Source: San Diego Zoo

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