Man tackles escaped emu in Salcombe

A man tacking an escaped emu in Salcombe has gone viral.

The incident happened on Wednesday, September 9 but has only now spread its wings far and wide, even appearing on Channel 9 TV in Australia.

The large bird has been named Side Neck and was filmed by James Barker on the A381.

It put up quite a fight after escaping its holding.

On the clip the man can be heard shouting “Emu down, emu down.”

After wrestling the bird for around 20 seconds it is thought to have headbutted the man who flew onto the road.

Finally the emu ran away and is thought to have returned safely to the land from where it came.

Throughout the filming James was heard laughing hysterically.

The whole incident is thought to have been watched by an inquisitive alpaca.

It was James’s wife Ro who put the clip up on social media.

Kingsbridge Police posted up some emu-related advice on their Facebook page.

They said “you don’t need a permit to keep one as a pet but they are expensive to keep and need plenty of space.

They must be fed, entertained and kept safe from extreme weather in order to not fall ‘fowl’ of the 2006 Animal Welfare Act.”

An emu usually becomes aggressive due to hormonal spikes during breeding season, territorial defence of a nest or mate, or poor socialisation and human imprinting.

Birds raised closely by humans without proper boundaries may lose their natural fear, viewing humans as flock members to dominate or protect.

Signs of an Aggressive Emu include standing unusually tall, puffing out feathers, hissing or making booming grunts, lifting a foot in preparation to kick and charging or snapping with the beak.

The entertaining clip has so far clocked up more than two million views.