Emu escapes from Vt. farm, on the lam for 5 weeks

[February 20, 2012]  SOUTH HERO, Vt. (AP) -- An elusive emu on the lam in Vermont has been amusing residents in communities on Lake Champlain.

The 150-pound flightless bird looks like a small ostrich. It has been spotted wandering here and there in Grand Isle and South Hero since it escaped from a local farm five weeks ago.

It was spotted again Friday outside the South Hero elementary school, where it walked by a window of the principal's office. School worker Steve Berard tried to lasso it with an extension cord, but it broke free.

The emu's owner tells WCAX-TV (http://bit.ly/yYUT7C) he bought three emus for his grandchildren, but they don't make great pets.

He's taken out an ad in a local newspaper saying, "Free emu if you can capture it."

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Information from: WCAX-TV, http://www.wcax.com/

[Associated Press]

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