This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Authorities in California captured an emu which led officers on a chase down a highway.

The Fresno Bee reported on Friday that the bird was apprehended following a brief pursuit by officers with the California highway patrol.

Authorities said officers responded to a report that an ostrich was wandering along the righthand shoulder of US Highway 99, north-west of Fresno.

It turned out to be an emu but the flightless fugitive was caught nonetheless, using dog snares.

“Yeah, it really was an emu,” CHP spokesman Gregorio Rodriguez said, adding that the 4ft-to-5ft-tall bird did not dart into traffic “but … kept it on the shoulder the whole way until we got to the bottom of the off-ramp.”

Madera County Animal Services took the bird into custody uninjured.

Officers said they did not know if the emu escaped a nearby farm or a moving vehicle.

Emus, flightless birds native to Australia, can sprint at up to 30mph and trot quickly for longer distances. They are the second-largest birds in the world – behind the ostrich.