A man wrestled an emu in the middle of a country road in Devon before the bird headbutted him and ran away. The incident was captured on video by a passing driver.
The animal is thought to have escaped its holding in Salcombe, Devon. James Barker, 46, filmed the scene on September 9 while driving along the road.
Footage shows struggle
In the footage, the man can be seen wrestling the large bird, struggling to keep it under control as it resists his grasp. He can be heard shouting: "emu down, emu down!"
After managing to restrain the bird for at least 20 seconds, the emu headbutted the man, sending him flying onto the road. The bird then ran away and is thought to have got back into the gated property it escaped from.
Witness describes scene
Mr Barker said: "It's not something you see every day! I had to take video otherwise people wouldn't believe me. I saw the bird on the road, so I pulled up to let the guy get hold of it - but it was too funny not to try and film."
He added that an alpaca "stood in the gateway" during the scuffle, as if watching the ordeal. He continued: "It was evident the bird was not quite so keen to get back to his home! Nowadays with everything going on in the world, it's quite nice to see something that is a bit entertaining!"
Video goes viral
Ro Barker, James's wife, shared the video to social media, where it has received over two million views. One commenter said: "You can't make that up, this has made my day." Another wrote: "Only in Salcombe!"
