As Israel braces itself for a massive winter storm expected to bear down on parts of the country in the coming days, one Israeli emu seized upon the pre-storm calm to go for a quick jog through his streets of Herzliya, much to the surprise and befuddlement of passing motorists.
Emus can weigh well over a hundred pounds, and reach nearly six and a half feet tall. This one likely broke free from an unregistered farm somewhere in the area of the central-Israeli city. As the man who filmed the runaway bird told Israel’s YNet news:
“I called the police and reported the emu sighting. They were stunned. As I drove, I noticed that a city vehicle had arrived to deal with the emu and was zigzagging between lanes, but I was the only one who managed to chase after it with my scooter.”
He said he tried to stop the emu a number of times, but it tried to attack him.
It’s estimated the emu was bookin’ it at around twenty-five miles per hour before he was ultimately subdued by the city’s veterinary department, who are currently keeping the bird under watch as they try to find his owner.
This is the second exotic animal to make a break for it in Israel in the past week. On Thursday, three rhinoceros from the Ramat Gan zoo took a leisurely stroll out of their enclosure upon realizing the gate had not been locked. They were subsequently recaptured in the zoo’s parking lot – presumably they couldn’t remember were they’d parked the car.
[cover image via screenshot/youtube]
Leave a Reply