Woodpecker! Video shows hilarious escape from Tennessee State Police driving emu in a 20-mile chase at up to 40 mph after breaking free from his enclosure
- MeeMoo cleared a fence from his fence with a seven-foot vertical jump and led police on an incredible 20-mile chase through a Tennessee town
- Harry McKinney said his pet ran away on Wednesday after it spooked construction workers who were hiding behind his house
- Police eventually caught the flightless bird, which had clocked speeds of up to 40 mph, and MeeMoo brought it home safely.
This is the incredible moment a pet emo led police on a bizarre 20-mile chase through a town in Tennessee.
Flightless birds are famous for being one of the fastest animals on the planet, and MeeMoo certainly lived up to the reputation as it clocked speeds of up to 40 miles per hour.
Harry McKinney said the pets escaped from their Rowan County farm on Wednesday after being spooked by construction workers who cut down trees behind his home.
MeeMoo cleared the fence with a seven-foot vertical leap and zipped through the town of Harriman.
The Harriman Police Department quickly became involved and an incredible 20-mile police chase developed before McKinney was able to bundle a tired MeeMoo into his truck.
MeeMoo cleared a fence from his fence with a seven-foot vertical jump and led police on an incredible 20-mile chase through a Tennessee town
Police eventually caught the flightless bird, which had clocked speeds of up to 40 mph, and MeeMoo brought it home safely.
Harry McKinney said his pet ran away on Wednesday after it spooked construction workers who were hiding behind his house
McKinney did his best to follow the bird when it first escaped, but soon lost sight of it and posted a plea on social media.
He was inundated with messages from residents providing updates on the whereabouts of MeeMoo around the neighborhood, which he would then feed to the police.
“I said ‘if you see my emu please let me know’ and immediately we were inundated with private messages saying ‘Hey, your emu in my backyard’ and all these videos,” McKinney told 6abc News.
“The videos posted are pretty cool to us, but it’s really the tip of the iceberg given what’s out there.
Everyone in the area got their own video for this.
“He passed a lot of sights in the city, and he went to some popular restaurants, so he really seemed to know where he was going.”
A video of MeeMoo was captured by four police cars while he was walking down the road by Stephen McDaniel.
He said the chase caught the attention of customers at a restaurant who jumped out of their seats to watch the chase.
Video of MeeMoo was captured by four police cars while running down the road by Steven McDaniel
It started at 20 mph but quickly progressed to 40 mph.
“The community coming together for those few minutes was great to see last night,” said McDaniel.
There were a lot of comments about how funny it was knowing everyone wants to meet MeeMoo right now.
“It was all worth it just for me to take a little video you know.”
MeeMoo is eventually cornered by the police and McKinney is finally able to collect his jaded pet from a nearby Victorian house and haul it to his van with the help of a “great friend”.
He added, “We were terrified that he would be hit by a car and someone would hit him with a tranquilizer dart, and that he would hurt himself during the chase.”
It was revealed later on Thursday that the “internet famous” emu escaped for a second but was quickly caught an hour later.
McKinney has now reinforced the fence, raising its height to nine feet.
