Emu loose on the Penn Pike

Drivers used their mobile phones this morning to call police saying there was a "strange thing", "a kind of huge bird" or "an ostrich" walking on the Turnpike near the New Stanton exit east of Pittsburgh.

Local television identified it as an Australian native bird that "can't fly" and between four and five feet tall, and 80pds weight - not much different from a deer in its potential for damage in a collision.

Police on the scene tried corralling the bird, even lassooing it, but unable to catch it after nearly two hours they zapped it with the taser they normally use on drunks. The bird died, though a local zoo man said death was as likely the result of exhaustion and the the trauma of being chased for two hours as from the taser.

Speculation is the animal escaped from a vehicle traveling the Turnpike. Some people have them as pets. Or keep them on hobby farms. They can be bought as chicks.

Emus are quite extensively farmed commercially in the US. According to a Wikipedia entry there are over a million emus on US farms.

"Emus are farmed primarily for their meat, leather and oil. Emu meat is a low-fat, low-cholesterol meat (85 mg/100 g); despite being avian, it is considered a red meat because of its red colour and pH value. The best cuts come from the thigh and the larger muscles of the drum or lower leg. Emu fat is rendered to produce oil for cosmetics, dietary supplements and therapeutic products. There is some evidence that the oil has anti-inflammatory properties; however, the US Food and Drug Administration regards pure emu oil product as an unapproved drug. Emu leather has a distinctive patterned surface, due to a raised area around the feather follicles in the skin; the leather is used in such small items as wallets and shoes, often in combination with other leathers. The feathers and eggs are used in decorative arts and crafts." (Wikipedia)

The Australian official coat of arms has a kangaroo and an emu, and both are among the most abundant and ubiquitous of wildlife on the Australia mainland.

The development of dams for cattle and sheep has provided water year round for wildlife too, that was unavailable before. So the numbers of emu are thought to be higher since European settlement began in the late 18th century. They generally coexist with regular livestock but there was a time in the 1930s when the Australian Army was called in to reduce emu numbers in Western Australia with machine guns.

The Army admitted defeat after battling a flock of 20,000 emus for a week, and managing to kill only insignificant numbers. They are fast runners (30mph/50km/hr).

Emu meat and eggs were a staple food supply for aboriginal peoples and for early white settlers in the outback. Their value was rediscovered in the health foods craze starting in the 1970s, when emu farming took off.

TOLLROADSnews 2008-09-03