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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — An escaped emu sent deputies on a wild goose chase after it walked up to a bar in central Florida.
The long-legged bird, which resembles an ostrich, hopped its 4-foot fence in Cape Canaveral on Friday and sauntered up to a local Irish pub.
The emu's owner, Paul Eaton, said the bird was spooked by a stray dog. It took Brevard County Sheriff's deputies and an animal control officer more than an hour to capture the 8-year-old bird.
A spokesman for the sheriff's office said it was like trying to catch a giant chicken. Emus are the second-largest living bird by height. They are fast sprinters and, when agitated, can jump and kick with considerable force.
Florida Today (http://tinyurl.com/jjg7ea6) reports the emu, named Taco, also jumped the fence in Oct. 2012 and ran amok on State Road A1A.
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Information from: Florida Today (Melbourne, Fla.), http://www.floridatoday.com
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