A West Lothian driver got quite the shock after spotting an emu on the loose running alongside a busy road.
Standing out from the local species, the huge bird had escaped from her home at the HOPE Scotland animal-assisted therapy centre in Bathgate on Monday afternoon.
The Daily Record reports the two-year-old bird, called Shirley, had noticed a gate had been left open by a delivery driver and took the chance to make its great escape and go on a bit of a wander.
Shocked motorists shared pictures and footage of the bird as she casually strolled alongside the busy carriageway after darting out in front of at least one vehicle.
In one hilarious clip, the driver proclaims "that’s a big bird”, while another driver joked: "Caught a picture of this big bird after it run out in front of the car today from the field directly below the Bathgate Hills. Anyone have any idea where it may have migrated from and suggestions on a hotel for ten days quarantine."
Staff at the centre were quickly notified of Shirley’s escape and coaxed her back to her home with a bucket full of food.
HOPE Scotland director Sean Carr said: “We own an animal-assisted therapy centre and all our animals are rescues.
“The snow had buggered our gates a wee bit because of how bad it was. They’re electric so they’ve been a bit temperamental this week.
“We’ve had to keep Shirley in a separate area. Unfortunately, a delivery driver went into the wrong bit yesterday and never shut the gate properly.
“She’s quite intelligent and knows how to move the gate open bigger. And she just took a wee wander.”
The 30-year-old added: “It is a busy road but it all happened within a space of about five minutes. The staff ran out and got her.
“We couldn’t believe it yesterday we saw the posts all over social media about her. I think it’s even funnier because Shirley is so tame.
“They went up to the road and everybody was shouting and stressing out.
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“All they had to do was shake the bucket and she came running back. She’s so tame that she’s easier to get in than the dogs are. She’s 100% ruled by her stomach.”
Sean, who runs the centre with his fiancee Marika, revealed they had brought Shirley home two years ago after spotting her for sale at a poultry market.
He explained: “We got Shirley at Lanark poultry market where we go regularly. Somebody was selling an emu chick.
“We’ve obviously got the facilities to deal with an emu here so we didn’t want anyone else getting her because there were a lot of people bidding on her.
“We wanted her as a pet and she’s definitely the most popular one here. She’s just unbelievable and loves everybody.
“Her getting onto the road is a bit of a one off and that’s why we’ve got the electric gates.
“These things happen often with livestock but not emus thankfully.”
