Recently, an emu briefly escaped from a Minnesota property after apparently mistaking a disc golf net for a potential mate, according to the bird's owner. According to a tweet from the Washington County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a call about an emu on the loose in Grant and discovered the bird "hanging out with a homeowner eating apples." The tweet read, "Yes, that’s an Emu. He got loose this morning in Grant and Deputies located it - just hanging out with a homeowner eating apples. Looks like this guy was super friendly." "Hey he was just hanging and taking a break between insurance commercials," joked Twitter user @ClaflinGreg as a response. 

Deputies from the Washington County Sheriff's Office responded to the animal complaint at 7:44 a.m. Thursday, May 4, 2023 and found a "loose emu in the area," according to a spokesperson. One of Benner's employees returned Erasmo to her property, the Idylwood Equestrian Centre. Erasmo, the emu has returned home safely. According to his owner, Jaime Benner, the flightless bird from Australia was likely looking for a mate when he climbed the fence and ventured into the Cedar Ridge Treatment Center's backyard. The center has a frisbee golf net in the yard that looks like a female emu "if you squint your eyes," she joked, per StarTribune. 

Erasmo had been roaming back and forth along the fence for a few days, prompting worried calls from the treatment center, according to Benner. She told them it was most likely just the frisbee golf net, but "he looked like he was having an issue, clearly." Erasmo was rescued by Benner after being abandoned on another farm without proper care, she explained. She's also taken in other large bird rescues and currently, her horse boarding farm is home to three emus and two ostriches. She added that the birds "live like show horses" with their own stalls and large fields to run in."Emus are great. They're so sheepish and awkward. We've never had a bad emu moment," she said. "I'm kind of surprised more people don't have them." We all try to find love in the wrong places, and this emu just joined the club. Hope Erasmo finds real love someday. 

Speaking of emus escaping, it is not new news. Emus seems to be giving policemen a tough job by escaping every now and then. The city of Harriman, Tennessee experienced a one-of-a-kind community-wide uproar on April 12, 2023, when a local man's pet emu escaped, sparking a slow-speed police chase to catch the massive bird. The entire search took seven hours and covered a distance of 20 miles. No one was hurt and most residents seemed to enjoy the incident though some were slightly intimidated by the five-foot-tall bird.