Runaway emu mistaken for a peacock and then reunited with his owner

Posted by Lisa Abdellah on 17 April 2023

A one-year-old emu, dubbed Runaway Rodney, escaped his owner Jon Cardy’s house in Suffolk, UK, last Thursday while Mr Cardy was on holiday. The crafty bird waited until his pet sitter had locked him in his enclosure and then leapt over the fence.

Suffolk police officer Alex Hales popped by to check Rodney the emu had got home. Photograph: Suffolk Police

Mr Cardy and his wife Laura took Rodney in when he was just two weeks old and considered him part of the family. It wasn’t the first time he’d pole-vaulted over the fence, but he was usually more easily found.

So, when Mr Cardy heard the news, he returned home, scoured social media and reported Rodney’s disappearance to the RSPCA, RSPB, and even the police.

‘I didn’t expect the police to go out and look for him,’ he told the BBC News. ‘He’s a big running bird and can cover a long distance fast, so we didn’t know where he might be.’

Thankfully, Mr Cardy chanced upon a video post by a concerned local group who’d mistaken Rodney for a peacock.

A friend helped him find his feathered friend and return him home.

Rodney the emu was taken in by the couple when he was a baby. Photograph: Jon Cardy

The couple also owns other animals including a two-legged cat, a pig, a tortoise, several ducks and geese, and lots of rabbits, many of which are therapy animals. Though, Mr Cardy admits, Rodney’s two eggs short of a doesn’t, he loves to be cuddled and Mr Cardy likens him to a handy draft excluder when he lies down.

‘My own health isn’t that good, but Rodney? He’s like my therapy,’ he said.

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