Animal shelter shares pictures of emu poop in search of missing bird

An animal sanctuary in Wiltshire has shared images of emu faeces and feathers in a bid to find a lost emu it fears has been “drifted downstream” in a river.

Malmesbury Animal Sanctuary reported the loss of “beautiful emu Irwin” on Facebook on Monday, with an update on Tuesday saying “optimism has waned”.

Another update from the sanctuary on Tuesday included pictures of emu poop and feathers in hopes the public would notice something.

A spokesman for the sanctuary told the PA news agency on Tuesday afternoon there had been “no sightings yet”.

They added: “The volunteers and the community have been calling us and we are so grateful and touched. Malmesbury is a truly wonderful community.”

A Facebook post from the sanctuary on Monday read: “We discovered the beautiful emu Irwin was nowhere to be seen.

“We are concerned that the field may have slipped into the river and been swept away by the current as it was partially flooded.

“However, emus are strong natural swimmers, so it is more likely that it came across the river and is now resting in someone’s garden in the area between the Dark Road and Daniel’s Well.

“Irwin has lived on site for over five years and has never left it in any weather before, so this behavior is unusual and therefore an accident is likely.

“Can we please ask everyone in that area to search their gardens? Be careful and let us know if you see any suspicious behavior around the shelter.

Emus, a flightless, running bird from the same family as ostrich and kiwi, is the second largest living bird in the world after the ostrich.

On Tuesday, another post from the sanctuary read: “We thought it might be helpful to post some pictures of emu poop and feathers.

“Fresh emu poop has a white streak on it. If it is a little old or it has rained, it may become flat like in the other photo. Emu feathers are long and always come in a joined pair.

“If anyone sees anything similar to this description, please let us know.”

In September, a capybara called Cinnamon shot to fame after escaping from Hoo Zoo and Dinosaur World in Telford, Shropshire.

The adventurous rodent was captured after being spotted in a pond in the zoo’s forest preserve.