ATLANTA — For the second week in a row, the eyes of Georgia turn east toward neighboring South Carolina, where there are again reports of escaped animals on the run.
After more than 40 monkeys escaped from a lab about an hour west of Charleston, now there's attention on two emus described as "feral" running wild north of Myrtle Beach.
This week the Horry County Police Department said they were aware of the loose emus "and have made contact with the owner." The department is trying to work with the owner to locate and capture the emus, and said there is "no risk to the community associated with the emus at this time."
Nonetheless, they say they are "not emu-sed."
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The reports of the emus originated with a man named Sam Morace who posted to a local community page for Loris, S.C.
"For everyone that keeps seeing an emu, yes it is mine. There are 2 of them out. They got loose 3 months ago. They are feral and not trained like the ones we have at the house," Morace wrote. "Local law enforcement has already been at my house, we are trying to get a tranquilizer approved so we can bring them home. Thank you for all the concerns and questions. But if the emus were that easy to catch they would be home already."
The emus are being called "Thelma and Louise" by the locals. Emus are quite large -- the second-largest living bird, according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute -- and locals appear to be having no trouble spotting Themla and Louise, with numerous replies to Morace's original post with photos of emus in various community locations.
According to American Emu Association publications, the birds are not normally aggressive with humans. It's unclear -- and, frankly, probably not even ever documented -- how a monkey and emu would interact if they happened to run into one another.
As of last update, there were still eight monkeys on the loose from the lab breakout.
