'He took off down the highway': MeeMoo the emu escapes owner, starts police chase in Tennessee
- An emu escaped his enclosure last week when became scared by loggers working nearby.
- His owner, police and volunteer firefighters pursued the bird and he was captured eight hours after escaping.
- His owner and social media users found the chase hilarious and some have even stopped by to visit him.
A Tennessee emu named MeeMoo led his owner, police and other community members on a 20-mile chase last week after he escaped his enclosure.
Harry McKinney, MeeMoo's owner, said the family's farm is near a ridge that's being logged and when MeeMoo heard the sound of the trees, he was "scared to death."
The 6½-foot bird made a run for the family's fence and after a few tries, he was able to get over it.
McKinney saw him run at full speed, about 40 miles per hour, through the property's front pasture. He knew he couldn't catch up so he hopped in his truck to chase the bird.
"He took off down the highway," McKinney recalled. "I got on the highway and started to follow him but he was moving so fast that he actually lost me."
His owner stopped at a nearby college and asked a police officer if he'd seen an emu, to which the officer responded "As a matter of fact, I have!"
Together, they chased the emu, following him down the highway.
Dogs: Alaska family lost their 1-year-old dog. He was found 150 miles away across frozen sea ice.
Buffalo: Rick Ross thanks community, team for getting buffaloes home safely
How did they capture him?
Police and volunteer firefighters helped track him, McKinney said. They asked people who were outside doing yardwork and other activities if they'd seen him to no avail.
The only thing left to do was to ask social media users to post if they saw him, McKinney said. Soon, the calls began to come in.
Eventually MeeMoo was seen headed towards a high school around 3 p.m. Wednesday, so police redirected him. Eventually, police were able to surround him near a house he stopped at, allowing his owner to leash him.
"I called out to MeeMoo and he recognized me," his owner said. "The only thing I had in the truck was a dog leash, so I turned into like a little slip lead and put it over his neck and I walked him over to the truck."
The next day, the family added some height to their fence but he was again scared by the loggers and escaped once more, albeit briefly.
"We'd made it a little bit higher but it wasn't quite where it is now," his owner said. "The logging company used their equipment to track him. He was out for about an hour and me and my wife got him the second day."
A 20-mile journey
MeeMoo was gone for eight hours total and traveled at least 20 miles, his owner said.
"The loggers took a couple of days off because of the story but they're logging again today and he's pretty agitated, but overall, he's doing great," his owner said Tuesday.
The bird is getting lots of attention and folks have been coming to visit him.
The family hatched him six years ago. MeeMoo also has a wife named MeeMee and lives on the family's 40-acre farm in Harriman, about 45 miles west of Knoxville.
He's very social and loves selfies, coming up behind people and wrapping his neck around theirs.
The experience has been great and MeeMoo has sparked lots of laughs, said his owner.
"I think that he would be happy if he understood the joy that he has brought to people," McKinney said. "You can see just from that selfie of me and him in the truck and going home that he absolutely enjoyed being followed by the entire town for eight hours."
Saleen Martin is a reporter on Paste BN's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757 – and loves all things horror, witches, Christmas, and food. Follow her on Twitter at @Saleen_Martin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.