A RHEA has been rescued by police, fire crews and a specialist animal management team after a householder found it in his garden.
Police were called at 12.30pm on Thursday when the man found the large bird in the front garden of his home in Trampers Lane, North Boarhunt, Hampshire.
It is not yet known how the bird, nicknamed Snowflake, came to be in the garden as it has not yet been claimed.
The rhea is a large native South American bird which is a smaller cousin of the ostrich and it is believed the white female found in the garden might have escaped from a private collection.
Hampshire Police and firefighters were helped by the animal management team from Sparsholt College in capturing the bird.
Chris Mitchell, animal management centre manager, said: ''Working with animals, we're accustomed to unusual conversations involving out of the ordinary situations.
''However it did catch me slightly off guard when we had a call from the Hampshire Police control room declaring that there was a large bird in a front garden in North Boarhunt and could the college assist.''
The team used specialist equipment to contain the bird, which has been taken to temporary accommodation at the college unitl it can be reunited with its owner or found a suitable long-term home.
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