Emu escapees

There is an emu/ostrich/goat farm in this community. The emus have been escaping and the elderly owners can't catch them. (Neither can the local authorities.) I came upon one standing in the middle of the road with a baby several weeks ago and had to come to a dead stop. (The adult bird was taller than my Suburu!) I drove back to the farm and told the owner who told me that the male emu had "kidnapped" the baby. Seems the female lays the eggs and is done with the process. The male "sets on" the egg til it hatches. (Seems fair to me.) At any rate, this escape was not a singular experience and, to hear the locals tell it, the woods are full of these birds. The locals also believe these birds will become wild and pose threats. Anyone know if emus can survive in heavy woods?

How are the emus doing? are they still at large Vickie?

Emu Alert! Yes,Philomel, some of the emus are still at large. I have to assume they are co-existing with the deer and other wildlife in the woods around here. I haven't seen one in two weeks but others have. The community is getting perturbed with the owners because now the goats too are escaping. (I haven't encountered a runaway goat, however.)

These people sound like a real menace. Introduced non-native species can do so much damage!
Must be so odd to suddenly come upon an emu though LOL. But they also sound rather large and scarey.

When I was stationed in Austrailia the emus ran free out in the outback where I was. They are very tall and if they can survive out in the middle of those desert-like conditions, I would say a woods would be a piece of cake!

I encountered one while doing an endurance ride (a marathon type event on horseback) in the high desert of central Oregon. They are tough birds, can run fast, kick the daylights out of a coyote or dog, and they will do very nicely in the woods. A good fence might be in order to keep them out of your garden. Does Animal Control help with capture/returning to owners?