An escaped emu sent Brevard County deputies and animal control officers on a wild chase Friday night in Cape Canaveral.

The evasive emu escaped from a home on Lincoln Avenue, witnesses said.

A viewer who called WFTV said he was walking his dog when it got loose and spooked another man's emu.

He said the emu then led deputies on a foot pursuit through a neighborhood.

Officials held up blankets and closed in on the large bird in an attempt to corral it.

An animal control officer eventually subdued the combative bird along State Road A1A.

Photos: Emu sends deputies on wild chase in Cape Canaveral [WFTV]

It was then hogtied and loaded into an animal control vehicle.

The emu was returned to its owner -- albeit with fewer feathers than it had before its escape.