Emu Refuses Arrest, Remains Extremely Fast

Motorists on an Australian highway were confronted with an unusually clear traffic hierarchy: a large emu in front, a considerably smaller police officer behind it, and everybody else presumably wondering whether this counted as an official pursuit.

The roaming bird led the officer on a foot chase along the road, displaying the sort of effortless pace that makes human law enforcement look as though it has arrived wearing the wrong number of legs. The officer continued after it, but the emu remained extremely fast and showed no obvious interest in stopping for a chat.

For passing drivers, the spectacle amounted to a rare and very literal traffic warning: large bird, pursued by smaller cop. It was less a conventional roadside incident than a slapstick procession, with the emu apparently setting the route and the officer doing his best to revise the arrangement from behind.

Emus are substantial birds, so this was not the sort of wildlife encounter that could be solved by quietly placing a cardboard box over the suspect. Nor was the officer equipped with the emu’s advantages: two long legs designed for speed, a low tolerance for administrative procedure and, on the available evidence, a firm commitment to remaining elsewhere.

The pursuit took place on foot down the highway as motorists shared the road with both fugitive and pursuer. No collision, injury or damage was reported in the supplied account. There was also no suggestion that the bird became aggressive; its chosen response to police attention was simply to leave at speed.

Details of how the chase began were not provided, beyond the emu having been on the loose. The bird’s owner, its intended destination and the reason it had wandered onto the highway were also not identified. The officer’s name and the precise location and time of the pursuit were not given.

Most importantly for anyone expecting the traditional conclusion involving handcuffs, paperwork and a stern ride in the back of a police vehicle, the available account does not say whether the emu was eventually caught. It likewise gives no information about where the bird went afterwards or whether any further attempt was planned to recover it.

For now, the recorded outcome is considerably simpler: the officer ran, the emu ran faster, and Australian motorists received a roadside demonstration of why pursuing a very large flightless bird on foot is an assignment with limited dignity and even less chance of surprise.