Photo: Emu Errant in Fort Hunter

Emu on the road

Errant emu: “It was prancing all over and then saw me and started walking toward my car like it was a gunfight at high noon,” says Mark Grimm, who took this picture Wednesday as he stopped his car on Carman Road near the Fort Hunter firehouse. The emu, a four-year-old male, it turns out is named Sheriff Cody. He was eventually recaptured and locked back into the pen where he resides, temporarily, at Whispering Willow Wild Care on Carman Road. Joyce Perry, owner of the wildlife center devoted to rehabilitation and education, said she is boarding the emu temporarily for its owner, but that it really needs a heated barn and the company of other emus. A volunteer at her facility left the gate open, Perry said, adding that she plans immediately to double-lock the gate. She praised the “good Samaritan” who first called 9-1-1 and the efforts of the Guilderland Police. A friend who also works with wildlife was able to capture Sheriff Cody and lead him back to his pen, Perry said. — Photo from Mark Grimm