Ostrich escapes from trailer, disrupts traffic in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — An ostrich brought traffic to a halt in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on Tuesday as motorists tried to lure and nudge the towering bird off a multilane thoroughfare.

Drivers called Sioux Falls police just before noon to report the roughly 7-foot-tall bird in the middle of a busy four-lane road.

As police and animal officials responded, motorists hopped out of their cars and managed to carefully corral the flightless bird. Video shot by bystanders showed people coaxing the bird off the road by offering up food in a plastic container and a few gentle nudges.

A police spokesman said the bird was among several ostriches being hauled in a trailer owned by an out-of-state traveler before it escaped. The owner helped capture the bird and managed to get it back into the trailer.

“The ostrich suffered no injuries, appeared just fine by us and was back with its owner before we had to take over,” Thomas Rhoades, a Sioux Falls Animal Control officer, told the Argus Leader newspaper.