SOME PEOPLE WOULD be happy if a leggy bird showed up unexpectedly at their home and refused to leave.
We’re kidding. That would just be weird.
But that was the problem facing a Galway householder who got something of a surprise when two giant birds which appear to be emus – both almost 2 metres high – turned up in her garden on Monday and were in no rush to go anywhere.
“Nobody knows a thing about where they came from. They just walked onto her land,” Imelda O’Brien of the Galway & Claddagh Swan Rescue told TheJournal.ie.
The woman living in the house in Knockdoe fed the two giant birds (pictured) when it became clear that they were looking for food and didn’t want to leave. She contacted the rescue centre in a bid to trace the owners.
“She was quite afraid of them,” said Imelda O’Brien. “Even though they’re extremely tame, they’re huge – I think you could almost even get up on their back, they’re so big”.
She speculated that the birds could have come from a pet farm or a wildlife park, but may have travelled a long distance.
Emus are the second-largest living bird in the world after ostriches and can run at speeds of up to 48 kilometres per hour for large distances.
The Galway & Claddagh Swan Rescue has placed an appeal on its Facebook page for the owners to come forward. In the meantime, the birds have been taken into the care of Galway County Council which is keeping the animals in an open space until their owners can be found.
Hopefully the birds aren’t trying to emu-late* the Great Escape and manage to make their way home.
*Sorry. We’re so sorry.
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