CARBONDALE - When an emu in Carbondale failed to surrender to police Wednesday, officers were given no choice but to put the large bird down.

Sgt. Mike Osifcin said the Carbondale Police Department got its first emu call at 11:19 a.m. The bird was near the intersection of Charles and New Era roads.

At 12:09 p.m., another call came. This time, the mobile emu was on Oakland Street, near the cemetery.

At 12:22 p.m., it was at 803 N. Allyn Street. The bird was pecking on a window of a residence. The owner was not amused.

Emus are raised for their meat, eggs and oil. They are not native to Southern Illinois - so the bird must belong to someone.

Osifcin said several animal control agencies and veterinarian offices were contacted in an effort to locate the emu's owner. No one seemed to know where the bird had come from or where it belonged.

One thing was clear, however. According to all animal experts contacted, emus can be dangerous. Vicious, in fact.

Their kick and sharp toenails, Osifcin was told, can cause serious damage to anyone who gets too close to a frightened or angry bird. There is really no way to capture the bird, he was told. It would be necessary to destroy it.

"They are bigger and stronger than you think," he said.

Indeed. Osifcin said he shot the bird five times with a shotgun from about 12 feet away.

"It didn't phase him," he said.

Another officer was called to the scene, armed with a rifle. Three rifle shots later, the bird was down.

Osifcin said a considerable audience assembled from the neighborhood and nearby construction crew. The emu kept running up and down a fence line on the Allyn Street property. Clearly, Osifcin said, the bird was familiar with a fence.

"I think he's going to be buried somewhere," he said, noting the city street crew removed the dead bird from the residential neighborhood.

Osifcin said there have not been reports of any damage caused by the bird. He said this is the first emu complaint he is aware of in recent city history.

andrea.hahn@thesouthern.com

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