Two large emus on the loose in South Carolina ruffled the feathers of locals a week after dozens of monkeys escaped from a research facility in the Palmetto State.
Sam Morace flocked to social media to plead with Loris residents who reported sightings of the elusive, feathered creatures to abstain from executing the flightless birds after they escaped from her father’s enclosure over the summer.
“For everyone that keeps seeing an emu, yes it is mine. There are two of them out” Morace posted to Facebook Tuesday.
“They got loose 3 months ago. They are feral and not trained like the ones we have at the house. Local law enforcement has already been at my house, we are trying to get a tranquilizer approved so we can bring them home.”
Horry County officials told The Sun News they are working to locate and capture the large birds native to Australia as residents took to social media after catching a glimpse of the birds in their backyards and local highways.
“First monkeys and now an emu!” Greg Lucas, a spokesperson for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources told the outlet.
“SC may be the new Florida!”
A total of 43 monkeys broke out of the Alpha Genesis medical research facility in Yemassee with some of the remaining primates high tailing around the rural area after a worker left their enclosure door open last Thursday.
As of Monday, 30 of the furry fugitives are back in the company’s custody unharmed, police said in a statement, as employees lure them back with food.
The facility breeds the Rhesus macaques to sell to medical facilities and other researchers.
Police urged residents to keep their distance from the rogue monkeys and to avoid flying drones in the area.
