This story is free to read.

Emu corralled after jaunt through traffic

An Emu is squirted with water to keep it from fighting with another Emu behind a fence Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014, in Tustin. Tustin police and Orange County Animal Control officers responded to a report of an Emu running around on the street near Main Street and El Camino Real. By the time they got there, neighbors had safely corralled the big bird and returned it to a pen it shares with two other emus in a backyard of a home. (AP Photo/Orange County Register, Sam Gangwer) MAGS OUT; LOS ANGELES TIMES OUT An Emu is squirted with water to keep it from fighting with another Emu behind a fence Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014, in Tustin. Tustin police and Orange County Animal Control officers responded to a report of an Emu running around on the street near Main Street and El Camino Real. By the time they got there, neighbors had safely corralled the big bird and returned it to a pen it shares with two other emus in a backyard of a home. (AP Photo/Orange County Register, Sam Gangwer) MAGS OUT; LOS ANGELES TIMES OUT

By Associated Press October 14, 2014 1 min read

TUSTIN, Calif. (AP) – It’s not every day you see a 6-foot-tall bird running in traffic.

But Tustin police say that was the report Tuesday morning when an emu got loose from a backyard pen.

The Orange County Register (http://bit.ly/1trRZVY ) says officers were called to a quiet residential area shortly before 11:30 a.m.

By the time they got there, neighbors had safely corralled the big bird and returned it to a pen it shares with two other emus.

A police statement says there was no threat to public safety.

The emu is a flightless Australian bird that resembles an ostrich. It’s the second-largest bird in the world after the ostrich and can sprint at up to 30 mph.

Authorities say it’s legal to own emus in Orange County with the proper zoning.

___

Information from: The Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com