Pennsylvania State Police Subdue Emu With A Stun Gun

One would not ordinarily expect to see an emu on the way to work. Last Monday, however, commuters were privy to the unexpected sighting of the Australian cousin of the ostrich.

Nevertheless, an escaped emu found itself trapped between five-foot-high barriers near the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s New Stanton exit where it blocked traffic for over two hours.

“Once it got in there it got stuck, and it didn’t know what to do,” said state police Sergeant Anthony Deluca.

Several different methods were tried in an attempt to corral the animal. Several troopers tried to catch it on foot. There was even a failed rodeo-style lasso attempt. The emu managed to resist all efforts to catch it.

“It created a backlog of traffic,” said DeLuca. “Vehicles almost wrecked into each other, into the bird. We tried to chase it down and tried to catch it.”

Eventually, however, troopers used a stun gun to bring the big bird under control. Personnel moved the four-foot-bird to the side of the road. Unfortunately, it died soon thereafter.

DeLuca said, “I think what happened is after about two hours of running on the roadway, it probably had a heart attack.”

“It doesn’t belong to any local farmers,” DeLuca said. “We believe it might just have escaped from a truck that might have been hauling emus.”