Runaway Emu Captured at Airport, Escapes Yet Again

On Monday, a runaway emu drew widespread attention in British Columbia, Canada after being spotted and captured at Prince George airport. Shortly after being contained, however, the bird escaped and remains at large. The farmer who initially captured the emu has since named it "Dora the Explorer," according to the CBC.

"This emu has been spotted around town and ended up at the airport," tweeted airport authorities on Monday. "Shout out to our staff that stayed with the bird and a huge shout out to Blackspruce Farm Tours for picking him up even though he didn't belong to you!"

According to CBC, the emu's origins are a mystery, but before being spotted at the airport, the large bird was also spotted running alongside a train and in another part of town. After a jaunt through the city, the bird eventually made its way to the fields surrounding the airport, where it was subsequently captured.

"It's a pretty funny sight to see an emu next to the airfield and having the planes land beside it," Chrisie Berry, Community Relations Manager for Prince George Airport told News 1130. "He was okay with it, he was not fazed at all. He was never a threat to aviation; he stayed on the right side of the fence. So we were happy about that as well."

Berry told CBC that officials with the airport originally called animal control to help capture the bird; however, she says animal control claimed they were not "comfortable" handling the emu. After placing several phone calls to various local veterinarians, they made contact with Blackspruce Farm Tours. The farm reportedly has a petting zoo that includes several emus and offered to take the animal.

Brent Meise, who runs Blackspruce Farm Tours, arrived at the airport and loaded the emu into his horse trailer. But, as he told CBC, the emu began kicking the back of the trailer in an attempt to escape. His solution? A horse corral. But even that wouldn't keep the bird at bay.

Eventually, the bird "managed to hook its foot on the bottom rung of the corral and used it to launch itself to freedom a second time," says CBC.

The whereabouts of the bird are still unknown, though Meise told CBC that he'll be monitoring social media to track its location. Thankfully, captured or not, the bird is expected to survive in the woods.