Emu caught by Hong Kong wildlife officials in car park after 4-hour chase in New Territories
Hong Kong wildlife authorities recovered an emu that ran amok in the northern New Territories for four hours on Saturday, with the flightless bird earlier spotted attempting to race motorists and strolling through a public housing estate.
Police received a report at 7.18am of the large flightless bird wandering along an intersection of Tin Sau Road and Tin Ying Road in Tin Shui Wai, before it was later spotted on Wetland Park Road at 9.13am.
Videos going viral online show the emu racing cars and visiting a public housing estate, while a driver in another clip can be seen swerving to avoid the bird as it runs in the opposite direction of traffic along Tin Ying Road.
Police at 9.55am said staff from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and wildlife officials were attempting to recover the bird.
The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department later caught the emu in a car park at the Hong Kong Wetland Park at 11.28am.
The bird’s owner has yet to be identified.
A park employee told local media the emu could belong to a private farm in the area.
Emu are relatives of the common ostrich and share a similar appearance, but are smaller in size and found in Australia rather than Africa.
The birds also boast a shorter wing span, with smaller necks covered in feathers and three toes per foot rather than two.
