Runaway emu, spooked by 4th of July fireworks, returned home after escaping Bucks County farm

By Madeleine Wright

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    NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (KYW) — A Bucks County farm owner is breathing a sigh of relief. Her emu, missing for 24 hours, has now been captured.

Rosie Alfaro, co-owner of Earth’s Best Organics, said the bird escaped from her farm on Eagle Road the night of July 4. She is raising the emu for its eggs.

“She [the emu] was all the way in the back in her enclosure,” Alfaro said. “She busted through the fence. She got so spooked out from the fireworks. We had very, very loud explosion feeling-like fireworks, so I’m thinking that’s what caused the behavior.”

The six-foot flightless bird broke out of its enclosure and made its way to a neighborhood about a mile away. Residents said they couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw the emu strolling down Atkinson Lane in the pouring rain.

“I was scared because it kept opening its mouth and it had really long like talons or claws on its feet, so I thought it was going to attack me,” Owen Lentz said.

The emu didn’t attack but appeared scared. Neighbors tried to corral it. By the time police arrived, the flightless bird had retreated into the woods.

“I just never seen something like that before,” Lentz said. “The police said in their 25 years of working they’ve never seen something like that. I didn’t even know they [emus] were in America.”

Alfaro was determined to get her emu back. She and her employees found the emu in the woods where it was last spotted, which is near the neighborhood, but catching it wasn’t easy.

Workers repeatedly tried to lasso the emu, but the bird simply ran away. Minutes later, the emu was captured. CBS News Philadelphia was the only station there as the 150-pound bird was hauled out of the woods and put into a trailer.

Back at the farm, the bird was carried to its enclosure. Alfaro says she’ll give the emu water and take it to the vet for a possible leg injury. The emu was seen limping prior to its capture.

Now that the bird is back where it belongs, Alfaro said she’s feeling “much better.” She added: “One less thing to worry about.”

Alfaro is taking steps so this doesn’t happen again. She said she’s planning to move her emu from its outdoor enclosure to an indoor enclosure the next time there are fireworks so the animal doesn’t get spooked.

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