Spooked Emu on the Loose After Escaping North Carolina Farm

An emu escaped from its North Carolina farm on Tuesday, spurring a search for the fleet-footed flightless bird across Greene County, sheriff's deputies said.

The emu's owner, Melvin Smith, said the emu jumped a fence Tuesday when it was scared by a loud piece of farm equipment, NBC affiliate WITN in Greenville reported.

Smith takes care of the bird for his mother, who is in a nursing home. His wife says the emu is 24 years old and is the only remaining emu from a massive farm Smith ran in the 1980s.

At its height, there were 3,000 emus on the farm. After he got out of emu farming, Smith's mother kept one male, who has since died, and one female.

Emus are the world's second-largest bird behind the ostrich.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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