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

[Fuji Vice]

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."

What kind of idiot would think an Emu would make a good pet? On the flip side, I've had Emu Burgers once and they were really good, so perhaps catching it could be beneficial to whoever does!