One emu caught, one still running wild
Madolin Edwards
An emu remains on the loose near Reels Corner while another was caught Tuesday afternoon.
Somerset County Animal Response Team (CART) was called to retrieve the two loose emus in the area of 7648 Lincoln Highway.
"County control got a call about ostriches on the loose at Reels Corner. They contacted the CART team and we were dispatched," said Susan Levy, Pet Recovery Technician at Lost & Found Pets of Somerset County, and coordinator of CART.
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"I also posted on the lost and found pets Facebook page to find the owner and we found him very quickly," Levy said. "They were not far from home, about 1/2 mile. They escaped from the pen and were out about four days. They must have been in the woods that whole time."
An emu is the second-largest living bird by height after the ostrich. These belong to Chuck Newlin.
Levy said six CART team members tried to corral the emus using a snow fence.
"It's a visual barrier that works," she said. "But we needed more man power. About eight to 10 people from Central City fire department came. They were wonderful.
"We brought a trailer and created a chute with the snow fence to the trailer. One of our members used to have emus, and she was able to get close enough to put her arm around it."
Levy pointed out that emus can be dangerous.
"Emus are very dangerous because they have a powerful kick," she said. "We grabbed its legs and carried it to the trailer. Unfortunately the second one escaped out of the snow fence while we were getting the first one. We couldn't get it. It was scared and ran back into the woods. At that point it was getting dark so we had to stop our search."
All the units cleared the scene at 4:49 p.m.
Animal rescue efforts
Levy and Newlin are hoping the loose emu finds its way back to the farm with the help of the first emu.
"We're hoping the other one will call it to draw it in," Levy said. "It's between Route 30 and Rock Cut Road. The farm is back through the woods. They weren't terribly afraid of the road. If anybody sees the loose emu, please call the country control non-emergency number (814-445-1525)."
Newlin said he's raising the emus as pets.
"I used to work with a gentleman who had them. I went to his house and met a bunch of them. I was very intrigued," he said. "I figured why not? They are red meat, but I did it for pets."
He said the emus are juveniles, about 4 1/2 feet tall. He said a full grown emu stands at 6 feet tall.
Newlin feels somebody deliberately left the emus out of the pen.
"They've been in the pen for 8 months," Newlin said. "I've never had an issue. Somebody would have to have let them out."
He said his wife fed them along with he rest of their livestock earlier in the day, and when she went out to feed them again, the emus were gone.
"I found the padlock on the ground beside the gate which was wide open," he said. "There's no way they could have done that.
"They've never been separated before so I'm hoping it'll come back."
Somerset County Animal Response Team assists companion animals and livestock during emergencies and disasters in Somerset County. The group is emergency responders who are activated through Somerset County Emergency Dispatch.
Levy said this isn't the first time the team was called for a rare case.
"Horses and cattle are a lot easier," she said. "We had to get chinchillas from an accident on the turnpike this year. We never know what we'll encounter."