Emu eggs being stolen from Mobile, Ala., zoo

[March 18, 2011]  MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -- The Mobile Zoo in Alabama is trying to put a stop to the theft of emu eggs.

Curator Lacey Clark says at least two or three of the big, emerald-green eggs have recently been taken, apparently by people coming over the fence into an area where the giant birds are incubating their future offspring in ground nests. Clark says there are suspicions that the thieves enter the zoo as visitors and steal the eggs during regular hours. Clark says the zoo has two adult female and two adult male emus, and that each spring the females lay up to 12 eggs in hollowed-out indentations in the ground. She says the eggs take about 50 days to hatch and require constant attention to maintain correct temperatures. [Associated Press] Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.