‘Alone in Ōpōtiki’: Walk of shame for emu after a runaway getaway

First came the stray horses. Now Ōpōtiki has its own wandering emu, which on Sunday could be seen dodging cars, children on bicycles, and local police.

But the unusual escapade didn’t last long when police rushed to the rescue and brought the bird back to its Union St meadow in the small town of Eastern Bay of Plenty.

The drama unfolded when the emu, a beloved pet, was driven from its sanctuary by stray dogs and was found on the road in a distressed state.

Witnesses told Local Democracy Reporting that the emu flinched and ran through Nelson, Wellington and Union streets.

Police were called and the bird was returned to safety on foot.

The scene unfolded in a video posted on Facebook, where a police officer can be seen walking alongside the emu, followed by a police vehicle, which in turn is followed by children on bikes who are filming the crazy encounter.

Gerard McCormack, manager of the planning and regulatory group for the Ōpōtiki District Council, said the emu was a well-known feature of the city, having lived there for the past 15 years.

McCormack said the emu used to be part of a “lovely” couple, but his partner was sadly killed by dogs a few years ago. Emus mate for life.

“The animal control team keeps an eye on the emu as part of regular patrols and the owner always takes care to make sure the emu is fenced and secure and that we haven’t had any problems,” he said.

“However, in this case it appears that some dogs were released and fences were cut, forcing the emu out of the meadow, and found its way to the road where it was clearly distressed.

“Thanks to the officers who helped lead him back to a fenced and safe meadow.”

In the wild, the life expectancy of an emu is believed to be between 10 and 20 years, but they can live up to 35 years in captivity.

Facebook comments about the emu hikoi show that it is a firm favorite in the city. Many people said that their children liked to feed the emu and expressed concern for their safety.

There were also several angry comments that someone had allowed their dogs to terrorize the pet.

Others found the event amusing and posted: “Only at Onlypōtiki.”

This is the only fugitive emu from Ōpōtiki, but the council is very familiar with other roaming animals.

McCormack said in July that since the close of Covid-19 there had been a large influx of horses to the municipality, which was not sustainable given the amount of grass available.

This had led to more calls about horses on the roads and on other people’s properties, and complaints of neglect with horses tied up without water or enough grass or in flood-prone areas.

Horses were causing myriad problems, including car accidents, and the council was looking for ways to manage the number of horses in the city and was considering a permit or license agreement as part of the Reserve Management Plan.

The emu’s owner declined to comment.