Escaped emu captured at Prince George, B.C., airport with the help of a local farmer
Staff at the airport in Prince George, B.C., say seeing animals like bears and moose on the grounds is fairly normal.
But not emu.
That was the reality this past Monday, when the large, brown bird made its way down an access road and onto airport property.
“That’s a really unusual sighting,” says Chrisie Berry, the community relations manager for the Prince George Airport, in an interview with CTV News Vancouver. “Emus are not exactly native to this area.”
Berry says she first saw social media posts about the emu wandering through the city and started following the story.
Then she was sent a video of the flightless bird running towards the airport and alerted the airport’s operations group.
“They were already aware the bird was there, so they were just kind of hanging out with it, keeping their distance and not stressing it out, just monitoring it, making sure it’s not going to go somewhere it shouldn’t be,” she says.
Berry says she then jumped in her car and drove to the airport to help with the emu she estimates is at least 5’ tall.
“But most of that is long neck and long legs,” she says.
The bird did not wander towards the airfield and generally left staff alone says Berry, adding it never became a threat to aviation operations. She says the emu was there for about three hours.
“We wanted it removed from airport property. That’s the best case scenario just so we don’t end up with an issue,” she says.
Berry says normally conservation officers or animal control would help with animals, but neither group had experience with the flightless bird. So, they worked with a local veterinary clinic that deals with exotic and large animals to find someone who could help corral the emu.
They pointed Berry in the direction of Brent Meise, the operator of the nearby Blackspruce Farm Tour.
“He has emu, but this wasn’t his emu,” she says. “But, he was nice enough to hook up a horse trailer and come get it for us.”
She says Meise was the hero of the day.
As for the bird’s current whereabouts, CTV News Vancouver has reached out to Blackspruce Farm Tour for more information.
“You never know what you’ll see at the airport and every day is different,” says Berry.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Serial sexual offender linked to unsolved 1970s homicides of four Calgary girls, women
An investigation into unsolved historical homicides from the 1970s has linked the deaths of two girls and two young women in and around Calgary to a now-deceased serial offender.
Woman with liver failure rejected for a transplant after medical review highlights alcohol use
For nearly three months, Amanda Huska has been in an Ontario hospital, part of it on life support, because of severe liver failure. Her history of alcohol use is getting in the way of her only potential treatment: a liver transplant.
Dabney Coleman, actor who specialized in curmudgeons, dies at 92
Dabney Coleman, the mustachioed character actor who specialized in smarmy villains like the chauvinist boss in '9 to 5' and the nasty TV director in 'Tootsie,' has died. He was 92.
Information commissioner faces $700K funding shortfall, says system is 'overwhelmed'
Canada's information commissioner says her office is facing a $700,000 funding shortfall that could impact its ability to investigate complaints about government transparency and accountability.
BREAKING Craig Berube named as next head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have named Craig Berube as their new head coach.
Backlash over NFL player Harrison Butker's commencement speech has reached a new level
The NFL is distancing itself from controversial comments by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker during a recent commencement address.
B.C. man 'attacked suddenly' by adult grizzly near Alberta boundary: RCMP
A B.C. man is recovering from multiple injuries after he was "attacked suddenly" by an adult grizzly bear near Elkford Thursday afternoon.
Australia's richest woman seeks removal of her portrait from exhibition
Art is subjective. And while many artists long to share their work with the world, there's no guarantee that the audience will understand it, or even like it.
Person charged in random assault on actor Steve Buscemi in New York
A person wanted in connection with the random assault on actor Steve Buscemi on a New York City street earlier this month was taken into custody Friday, police said.