Jan. 12 (UPI) — Members of a British family are asking neighbors in Rushden, Northamptonshire, to keep an eye out for their unusual escaped pet — a 5-foot-tall rhea bird.
Sophie Wills said her family’s rhea, Basil, escaped from his enclosure at the family’s Rushden home on Wednesday when he was spooked by some nearby dogs.
The flightless bird, a distant relative of the ostrich and the emu, is native to South America.
Wills said numerous Basil sightings have been reported in the area, but no one has gotten close enough to attempt a capture.
“He’s around 5 feet and very placid but please do not approach him,” Wills told the Northamptonshire Telegraph. “He’s got to know us, so I’d like to think he’d come up to us. Even if he came to someone, you aren’t going to be able to catch him. His legs are very strong and if you got caught by a kick it would probably hurt. We would rather people left it to us.”
