Meghan Finnerty

The Republic | azcentral.com

Law enforcement in Arizona not only wrangle loose llamas but also emus.

An emu disrupted traffic on Interstate 10 about 100 miles west of Phoenix on Friday morning, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

DPS troopers worked to capture it safely and get it into a trailer, protecting the animal and drivers, according to a department statement.

DPS spokesman Quentin Mehr tweeted photos of the capture.

According to information from the San Diego Zoo, emus are large flightless birds native to Australia's grassy plains and open forest. They are smaller than an ostrich and can travel by trot at about 30 mph.

Troopers first received a report of a loose emu on I-10 near milepost 64 at about 10 a.m., Mehr said. When a trooper arrived, the emu was seen in the median area but eventually safely crossed the interstate and onto a dirt shoulder, he said. A second trooper arrived and tried to prevent the emu from crossing back into lanes of traffic.

Mehr said the emu was lassoed and loaded safely into a trailed by an officer with the Arizona Department of Agriculture.

MORE:Top 10 spills on Arizona freeways | Famous Arizona animals

It wasn't clear why the emu was in that area or where it had come from, troopers said.

Friday was not the first time an emu hit the road in Arizona. In November 2015, four emus were on the loose in Tucson after walking away from their pen. According to an official with Pima County Sheriff's Department, the wrangling was an ordeal because deputies "aren't trained to deal with emu."