A South American rhea escaped from a farm in Hertfordshire last month

Apr 16, 2014 11:21 GMT  ·  By

A dangerous South American bird is currently on the loose in the English countryside after it fled from a farm in Hertfordshire last month.

The 6-foot (1.82-meter) tall South American rhea was being kept as a pet at a farm in Brent Pelham, but somehow managed to escape from its enclosure four weeks ago and has been on the run ever since.

The giant feathered creature is a flightless ground bird, but can run at 40mph (64.7km/h) and is reportedly capable of disemboweling a human with its claws, so an unexpected encounter with a rhea could result in serious injuries for humans.

The Daily Mail reports that Jo Clarke, the bird's owner, said that she kept four rheas on her property at Brent Pelham because they were good at eating weeds, but one of them – a three-year-old female nicknamed Chris – escaped after being spooked by the local hunt.

Apparently, the rhea was seen trotting away by some members of the Puckeridge Hunt, a hunting club that keeps its hunt kennels in the area, during a chase in a field near the farm where the bird lived, on March 15. However, they insisted the hounds had not gone near the bird's field.

“We weren’t very near it and the hounds didn’t go anywhere near it but some people told me they’d seen what they thought was an ostrich trotting through a field,” Di Pyper, master of the Puckeridge Hunt, said.

“I saw the bird the next day when it came past my house and I told the owner, as did several other people who sighted it, but I’m not sure anything was done,” she added.

During the four-week period since it fled from its home, the ostrich-size bird has been spotted several times, including in neighboring villages up to around five miles away.

Last week, it was seen and photographed by Ray Murdoch, who was cycling near to the village of Nuthampstead.

“In the distance I saw what appeared to be a large bird, and the closer I got the more perplexed I got. Initially, I thought it was a crane, but as I got closer, I realised it wasn't a crane, and I wondered if it was an emu,” Mr. Murdoch, a retired geography teacher, said.

But the most recent sighting was on Sunday, when civil engineer Tim Bradshaw, 37, spotted the rhea in a field near the village of Anstey, where he lives.

Local police says capturing the animal is the owner's responsibility, but if it becomes a threat for the public, officials might intervene and lend a hand.