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An emu managed to escape from its home in North Carolina and travel 30 miles away before police were able to catch up to it.
According to a post on the City of Lenoir's official Facebook page, a female emu named Kevin somehow traveled several miles away from its home before showing up on Eastwood Park Drive Southeast in Lenoir on Saturday (April 30). Kevin reportedly approached a father and his three children, laying down next to the group while the man called police to assist with the large bird.
"File this one under 'other duties as assigned,'" the department's post states. "Officers with the City of Lenoir Police Department tried their hand at emu wrangling this weekend."
"The surprise emu visit caused quite a shock," the post continued. "The dad called in Lenoir Police to assist in catching Kevin. Our officers not only managed to get a dog leash on Kevin, they fed her by hand and led her into a neighbor's fenced-in backyard."
Kevin was placed into the care of the Caldwell County Animal Care Enforcement Division until they could locate her owners, who live more than 30 miles away in Moravian Falls. Kevin's owner, Heather Leatherman, told WSOC that the emu had been missing for more than a month after she was scared by her neighbor's dogs. After reuniting with the big bird, she said that Kevin appeared to have lost 20-30 pounds during her adventure.
"I am shocked [she] went that far, I just figured [she] was living, you know, we're in the mountain area," she said. "But [she] was just near a river or stream, because they live out in the wild in Australia."
Leatherman plans to build a bigger fence at her home to help keep Kevin safe and contained.