Eno the emu dies during capture. 'Everyone is devastated' by bird's death, official says
Eno the emu, the large flightless bird that evaded authorities for months, collapsed while being captured Thursday and died, officials said.
According to Orange County Animal Services, authorities worked with an avian veterinarian and two specialists from the N.C. Zoo to sedate the bird to transport it to a sanctuary.
But the sedatives didn’t work, and it died while being restrained.
“We did all we knew to do,” Animal Services Director Bob Marotto said in a news release. “We consulted with zoo experts to determine the best course. Unfortunately, she did not respond to our efforts.”
A group of officers and specialists arrived in the area of Rogers and Eubanks roads in northern Chapel Hill around 10 a.m. Thursday. They administered sedatives to the emu via grapes and bananas at 11 a.m., waited for the sedatives to kick in and eventually tried restraining the estimated 100-pound bird.
The emu collapsed and, despite group members administering CPR, it died, possibly of a stress-induced heart attack, officials said.
“Everyone is devastated,” Marotto said in the release.
Authorities had tried to capture the bird since the first sightings in June, worried it might endanger itself and others in a traffic accident or in the upcoming deer hunting season.
“We didn’t feel leaving it alone was a viable option,” Marotto said in the release.
The 5-foot tall emu had already caused some trouble on the road a month ago, jumping on the hood of a car near Hillsborough before running into the woods.
Animal Services officers closed in on the bird in mid-August, after leaving out buckets of food and water. They had even gotten as close as one person feeding it out of their hand.
No one reported missing an emu. Tenille Fox, Animal Services spokesperson, said they were hoping to take it to The Blind Spot Animal Sanctuary in Rougemont in northern Durham County
https://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/counties/orange-county/article235019057.html
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so sad it ended this way. 
