Ohio Officers Give Chase to Runaway Emu Dubbed 'Big Bird'

Footage of officers chasing down and helping to detain an escaped emu has been published by the Columbus Police Department, which described the incident as "quite the 'emusing' call" on social media.

The runaway emu escaped from a sanctuary in the Ohio capitol on Monday, with police heading to southwest Columbus to capture the large flightless bird.

In the bodycam footage, which lasts 4 minutes, 21 seconds, a mixed group of police officers and sanctuary workers can be seen chasing the emu and attempting to bring it under control with a catchpole and rope. It was taken shortly after 9 a.m. local time, on the same day the emu made its bid for freedom.

The animal repeatedly evades its pursuers, running across fields and a wooded area, before a man manages to get the catchpole around its neck, ending the chase. At this point, the video cuts forward by about 15 minutes, at which point the emu has been strapped to a stretcher and is being carried from the field.

According to the Columbus Dispatch, the emu, which was named "Big Bird," was returned to its home at 9:50 a.m. after being caught at 9:22 a.m.

During the chase, one officer could be heard saying: "apparently emus are really fast" over the radio.

Later, a police dispatcher joked: "If you have to strap it down, isn't that a use of force?"

An officer replied: "I just hope nobody got bit or scratched because I don't know how you explain that."

Neither the emu, nor any of the humans, were injured during the pursuit.

Britannica says the emu is the second-largest living species of bird, after the ostrich, typically reaching 5 feet in height and weighing 500 pounds. Emus are native to Australia, with several subspecies being hunted to extinction by European settlers in the 19th century.

Columbus police shared the bodycam footage from its officer on Facebook, commenting: "Quite the 'emusing' call officers received this morning working Zone 3 in southwest Columbus.

"Thanks to help from several Columbus Police officers, this runaway emu was captured and returned to its sanctuary unharmed," it said.

In January, police were brought in after a clouded leopard went missing from the Dallas Zoo in Texas. The zoo was forced to declare a "code blue" incident, meaning a "non-dangerous animals" was out of its cage, and the facility was briefly closed to the public.

An Andean bear escaped from the St. Louis Zoo for the second time in February, with visitors told to remain in lockdown for 50 minutes while the animal was recaptured.

Two tigers escaped from an animal sanctuary in Troup County, Georgia, after a tornado damaged their enclosure in March. They were recaptured, according to the Troup County Sheriff's Office.