WELD COUNTY, Colo — Weld County deputies responded on Tuesday to the unusual call of "ostrich in the roadway" and found not an ostrich but another one of the world's largest species of bird, the sheriff's office said.
It turns out an emu got loose from its enclosure and was running around the area of Weld County Roads 76 and 33. For the record, emus can reach 6 feet tall and can weigh between 66 and 121 pounds. They can also run at speeds up to 30 mph, according to Denver Zoo.
The Weld County Sheriff's deputies and animal control officers had to use their "contain and capture" skills to safely get the emu into a nearby fenced residential yard – with the owner's permission.
It wasn't too long after when a passerby told the officers who owned the emu, and the owner was notified.
"We got lucky," the owner said when he came to pick up the emu, whose name he said is Buddy.
Buddy was safely loaded into a trailer, and "the ordeal was over."
"We're grateful Buddy is back home with his family," the sheriff's office said.
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