According to Colleen Sharp, who kept the bird in her fenced-in back yard overnight after she and neighbors corralled it there, the emu made a break for it after she took her kids to school Wednesday morning.

"When I came back, the bird was galloping around the backyard," Sharp said.

She said by the time she got out of the garage, the emu was on the loose again, presumably having jumped the four-foot fence.

So far, the emu's origins are a mystery. Agricultural extension offices in Orange and Chatham counties knew of no emu farms in the area, and no one has called the Chatham animal control office to report the bird missing.

Sam Groce, an agricultural extension agent in Chatham, said there was a major push for emu farming in the county some years back. However, many of those ventures failed, and some people began keeping the remaining emus as pets.

"Those things are notorious for escaping," Groce said.

Or sometimes they're simply let go when farms fail, said John Sauls, Chatham County's animal control manager.

"We had situations where people probably let the animal go on purpose or, if it escaped, didn't make much of an effort to find it," Sauls said.

The emu was trapped in Sharp's backyard after running loose around the Highland Forest neighborhood. Sharp fed it apples, oranges and grapes, and a neighbor provided Cheerios to help lure the bird.

Sharp said the emu loved being petted, and even made a noise that sounded like a deep purr. However, the animals, which can reach 6 feet in height and weigh 150 pounds, also can be aggressive. Sauls warned that no one should attempt to catch the bird, which has sharp claws and a strong kick, and residents also should keep their dogs away from it if they see it.

"This emu, I would say, has been treated like a pet, but that does not mean its aggressive nature would not kick in," Sauls said.

Anyone who spots the bird is urged to call 542-7203 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., or 911 after hours.

(Staff writer Dave Hart contributed to this article.)