Authorities chase down runaway ostriches in Taber, Alta.
It was a strange situation in one southern Alberta community on Thursday where police were called to help wrangle some runaway ostriches.
In a viewer video sent to CTV News, RCMP officers in Taber, Alta., are seen driving in marked cruisers trying to head off one of the birds that was running down a street.
The first cruiser, with the ostrich owner in the passenger seat, is unable stop the bird, which stumbles and runs off to be chased by another RCMP member in a marked cruiser.
The Taber Police Service said the incident took place on Thursday morning.
"Members of the Taber Police Service and the TPS Regional Community Standards Unit dealt with a number of ostrich within Town of Taber limits," the agency wrote on Facebook.
"The group made their way out of town where they created traffic hazards. Taber Police Service members assisted the RCMP in confining the birds so the owners could safely capture them."
Destiny Nanaquewetung, the woman who shot the video, told CTV News she "thought she was seeing things" when she witnessed the scene.
"I noticed there was an ostrich running down the road," she said. "It's not something you see every day. It was really weird."
Despite that, she says the situation really made her day.
"(My day) started out a little rough but it definitely made it better, seeing an ostrich running down the highway."
RCMP say they responded to the area of Highway 36 and Township Road 94 for "reports of ostriches."
"RCMP determined that approximately 20 ostriches escaped their enclosure and were loose," police said in a release.
"Over the last several hours, RCMP have supported the farmer in locating and capturing the loose birds. A video taken by a local resident that has been provided to media depicts an RCMP police car with the ostrich owner riding on the passenger side grabbing one of the ostriches."
By 12:30 p.m., the majority of the ostriches were recaptured, but police are continuing to help the owner recover those that have yet to be caught.
Unfortunately, one of the birds was struck and killed during the events on Thursday morning, police said.
Taber is located approximately 260 kilometres southeast of Calgary.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.