Lara Thomson couldn’t believe her eyes yesterday when she wandered down Bangour Road in Livingston, West Lothian and spotted the large bird pecking at a bin.
Believed to be called Shirley, the emu is expected to have wandered from the local HOPE Scotland animal assisted therapy centre in Bathgate.
Lara, 44, shared an image of the bizarre sight as the escaped emu appeared to be helping itself to rubbish from the bin.
The image was taken by a rather drab looking bus stop and shows the large black and grey emu standing by a bin which is overflowing with litter.
The flightless bird is standing nonchalantly on the opposite side of the road from Lara and doesn’t appear to be in any hurry to get moving.
Shirley is apparently an escape artist and made the headlines earlier this year after escaping her enclosure onto a busy carriageway.
The elusive emu managed to escape through an open gate but staff at the centre managed to coax the bird back in with a bucket of food.
Lara shared the image to Twitter yesterday writing: “Living in Livingston you get used to seeing some strange things, an emu raiding the bin however is a new one.”
The tweet has gained over 1,700 likes and more than 250 retweets and 100 comments from users who were bemused by the sighting.
@scrumpygirl01 said: “I thought you were joking until I zoomed in. Where the hell did it come from?”
@Caino37234468 joked: “I’ve seen a few strange birds in Livingston.”
@SBrnsd quipped: “Fallen on hard times since Rod Hull’s death. Equally, a couple of Livingston families could feed off it this Christmas, if they’re quick enough.”
@whitenancy007 added: “Forget it, I know what you’re thinking but it will never fit in your oven.”
@bobmca1 commented: “It must’ve been fed up waiting for the bus!”
@Blueboy18722 believed he spotted the bird after it had escaped earlier in the year, sharing a picture of an emu running alongside his car on the road.
He said: “I saw it a couple of months ago just along from the Tesco recycling centre.”
Speaking today, Lara said: “I was walking my dog Dolly around lunchtime yesterday when I spotted it.
“I was just going down Bangour Road when I saw it waiting at the bus stop, then raiding the bin beside it.
“It’s definitely not what I was expecting to see a few days before Christmas.
“I’ve heard that the emu belongs to a local cattery and is in the habit of escaping as a few people have seen it before – apparently she’s called Shirley.
“Someone contacted the SSPCA soon after and it seems she’s been returned to her rightful home.
“It’s one of the more bizarre things I’ve seen – and Livingston isn’t short of bizarre sights!”
