Lucy, Nanaimo's runaway emu, found and brought home
CBC News | Posted: March 22, 2014 4:05 AM | Last Updated: March 22, 2014
16-year-old bird captured in backyard; owner takes beating corralling bird that 'kicks like a horse'
It's been nearly a week since he's been on the run, but Lucy the emu is back where he belongs with owner Tim Genner.
Lucy has a female name but is a male bird. Several years after the emu was named, Genner says, he discovered Lucy was not female, but the name stuck.
The 16-year-old bird escaped from his Cassidy, B.C. farm Sunday when Genner forgot to lock the gate to the bird's pen.
Two days later, Lucy was spotted about 20 km north near the Colliery Dam in Nanaimo.
Friday night, Lucy was finally cornered in a backyard near the Nanaimo campus of Vancouver Island University.
Genner says that's when the fun started.
Trying to wrestle a 70-kilogram emu that kicks like a horse into the back of a van isn't easy.
"There comes a point where they realize they are in a fight for their life they think," said Genner.
As he wrestled with the bird, Genner took a bit of a beating, suffering numerous bumps and bruises.
Genner says he's learned a valuable lesson.
"Don't get an emu for a pet," he advises. "If you do, make sure it's very well contained."
Genner had been using the Twitter account @Lucyontheloose to help track the bird.
Here's how Lucy's voyage looked
Sunday: Lucy flew the coop.
Monday: No known sightings.
Tuesday: Spotted near Colliery Lake Dam Park, and later spotted near Vancouver Island University
Wednesday - Spotted near Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
Thursday - Possible emu sounds heard in area of Lost Lake Road near Rutherford Road area.
Friday - Cornered in a backyard near the Nanaimo campus of Vancouver Island University, loaded into a van and taken home.
Twitter user @TheMajorCow published a public Google Map of reported sightings of Lucy: