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A runaway emu turned a California neighborhood into a feathered fiasco, darting around traffic and forcing deputies to become bird wranglers.
Santa Cruz County sheriff’s deputies were spotted chasing the speedy bird through the streets just days after another emu caused a traffic headache nearby.
“When we say no two days are the same in this line of work, we really mean it. Just another day on the job… apparently ‘keeping the peace’ sometimes translates to keeping an emu out of traffic long enough for its owner to come get it,” the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said on Saturday.
“And no this is not a repeat offender from the CHP Santa Cruz emu incident. Different bird, same agenda: wreak havoc,” they continued.
The latest feathered fugitive came just days after California Highway Patrol officers dealt with a separate emu, prompting multiple calls from concerned motorists.
“Fortunately, the Emu’s owner quickly arrived on the scene, and we managed to safely corral their feathery friend. A big shoutout and thank you to everyone who called in to help us handle this unique situation!” CHP Santa Cruz posted on Wednesday.
Facebook users quickly made jokes about the situation.
“It was just making sure that homeowner had car insurance,” one user commented. “He was looking for the audition for the Liberty Mutual car insurance commercial,” another person added on.
The insurance company’s LiMu Emu campaign debuted in 2019, pairing the feathered mascot with his human sidekick, Doug, in ads promoting Liberty Mutual’s “Only pay for what you need” slogan.