‘Feral emus’ seen roaming northern Horry County 3 months after escaping

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A pair of emus are on the loose in northern Horry County, three months after breaking free of their enclosure, police and the bird's owner said.

"For everyone that keeps seeing an emu, yes it is mine. There are 2 of them out. They got loose 3 months ago. They are feral and not trained like the ones we have the house," Sam Morace posted to a Loris community Facebook group on Tuesday. "Local law enforcement has already been at my house, we are trying to get a tranquilizer approved so we can bring them home."

The large, flightless birds can be up to six feet tall and weigh 120 pounds, with maximum running speeds of 30 mph, according to the Smithsonian Institution.

They're also intelligent, curious and brave — making them difficult to wrangle once they break free.

"If the emus were that easy to catch, they would be home already," Morace said on Facebook.

Marlboro County residents were treated to a similar exploit in July , when one of the animals roamed between Clio and Bennettsville for several days, covering about 12 miles.

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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at . See more of his work here .