'That's a Big Ol' Bird': Deputies Struggle to Wrangle Loose Emu

Pelzer, United States – Sheriff's deputies in South Carolina spent part of their shift chasing a loose emu that wandered onto Highway 418 on Saturday, November 7.

Body camera footage released by the Greenville County Sheriff's Office shows a deputy trying and failing to lasso the large bird with a rope, then several deputies closing in on it in a field. "I heard their claws are real sharp," one deputy says. "I've never messed with one. That's a big ol' bird."

A neighbour brought chicken feed to keep the emu busy while deputies waited for a local resident with experience handling emus, who then wrestled it to the ground.

The emu, named Limu, has since been rehomed to an emu farm in Honea Path, the sheriff's office said, adding that no birds or deputies were harmed.