June 9 (UPI) — An emu spotted running loose in British Columbia was captured when it visited an airport — but it escaped again just hours later.
The flightless Australian bird, which is of yet-unknown origin, was spotted Monday running alongside a train in an industrial area of Prince George before making its way to the fields surrounding Prince George Airport.
Prince George Airport Authority community relations manager Chrisie Berry called around to various animal rescue groups before a veterinarian directed her toward the Blackspruce Farm, a petting zoo that offered to house the emu.
Brent Meise, who runs Blackspruce, managed to capture the emu in a horse trailer, but the bird became agitated once it was contained and attempted to kick its way out of the trailer.
Meise said emus can be territorial, so he didn’t want to put the captured bird into the specialized pen that houses his own emus.
“So we put in the horse corral, which was not very effective,” he told CBC News.
The emu climbed out of the corral and once again is loose.
Meise said the male emu would likely be able to survive for a while on its own in the wild, particularly during the summer months when wild plants and insects are plentiful.
Meise said he is now monitoring social media sightings in the hopes of capturing the emu a second time.