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Home Sittingbourne News Article
A giant pet emu called Jimmy is said to be responsible for causing panic among motorists and dog walkers in a quiet country village.
Darren Jenner became its latest victim he was chased by the 6ft bird while enjoying a stroll with his two labradoodles in a field near Iwade at around 2pm on Sunday.
The 51-year-old, from Strood, quickly discovered the bolshy animal was in no mood to budge when he and his dogs tried to pass it.
Instead, he was forced to make a quick getaway on foot with the animal in hot pursuit.
Mr Jenner said: “When I got up to it I thought it would see me and just run away, but it didn’t, instead it chased me down the path.
“It got right up within 3ft of me. I had my dog lead in my hand ready but fortunately I didn’t have to use it. It was a bit scary.
“It’s not something you expect to happen on a quiet Sunday afternoon.”
Hours after the story about Mr Jenner’s encounter appeared on our website, a woman came forward saying she believed it was her emu that may have travelled all the way from Bethersden, near Ashford.
On June 2, farmer Ros Shute discovered her four-year-old pet emu, Big Bird, was missing from her home in Saint Margaret Farm.
Two days later, an animal matching his description was found just a few miles away in a field off Criol Lane, Shadoxhurst, near Ashford.
Despite attempts by locals and the RSPCA to trace the owner of the mysterious visitor, no clue of his origin was ever found.
Miss Shute travelled from her home this week hoping to capture and take home her intrepid pet.
She said: “It seems incredible - there has been no sightings of him for weeks and weeks.
“I don’t think he travelled all that way on foot, whether someone tried to rehome him and he got away again, I don’t know and I would just be guessing.
“I’m very keen to get him back.”
However, after assembling a search party and scouring the fields near Sittingbourne, Miss Shute discovered the Iwade emu was not her own bird.
On May 11, an emu, which at the time was thought to be a Rhea, caused concern among motorists when it was said to be approaching cars.
But now a relative of another emu owner says he believes the missing bird is Jimmy, who lives at Raspberry Hill Farm, is “very tame”, likes nothing better than sitting in the sunshine, and will tap on the window of a car or house when he wants a treat.
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