JESUP - A Buchanan County sheriff's deputy discovered Saturday it takes three grown men to prevent an emu from crossing the road.

One to tackle its legs, one to hold down its upper body and one to tie it up.

"I had a rope, so we tied its legs up and put a bag over its head," said Christopher Chesmore, the deputy. "Apparently, I didn't know that if you put a bag over these things' heads, it calms them down, it takes the fight out of them."

An emu, a brown flightless bird related to the ostrich, took a road trip down the median of U.S. Highway 20 Saturday afternoon, slowing traffic between Jesup and Independence for nearly two hours. The emu, which appeared to escape the adventure unscathed, is in the custody of a local resident until its owner can be found. Chesmore said the temporary guardian did not wish to be named.

The bird trotted east down the median as cars, some with cameras protruding from windows, slowly passed. When the emu came within a half mile of Independence, it turned around and headed west again.

All the while, three squad cars drove on either side of the animal, providing what Chesmore called "a rolling road block."

He and two other officers started escorting the bird after it crossed county lines from Black Hawk County, where the bird may have broken loose. The Black Hawk County Sheriff's Office did not release information over the weekend on who the bird belongs to or where it came from.

As the minutes dragged on while they looked on helplessly from their vehicles, Chesmore and the officers racked their brains for ways to end the chase without injuring the bird or any motorists. Emus, which are native to Australia, can grow up to more than six feet in height.

"The problem is on a Saturday there are a lot of people on the road," he said. "If somebody did hit it, it'd probably go right through your windshield."

Contact Jens Manuel Krogstad

at (319) 291-1580

or jens.krogstad@wcfcourier.com.