Big bird's adventure

Most of the emus at Tom and Diane Pearson's farm had numbers.

But one of the tall, gawky birds was special. He had a name.

Buddiemu, pronounced "Buddy Emu," had distinguished himself from the mob as the outgoing one. He would often stick his beak into his owners' pockets in search of corn.

"He's been the personable one ever since we got them," Tom Pearson said. "The other ones are stand-offish."

So imagine the Pearsons' distress when the special creature disappeared earlier this year.

He was one of nine emus in a pen when the males and females started pairing up back in June. He was the odd man out, and the others made him leave.

The Pearsons scoured the railroad tracks in search of the bird, which they had owned for 13 years, since acquiring him and the others as breeding stock from Texas.

"We searched for quite a while and put out some fliers," Pearson said. "We had no takers. I assumed he was in somebody's freezer."

Buddiemu stood about 5 feet 10 inches when fully upright and weighed 130 pounds.

He was part of a species thought to be the closest living relative to the dinosaurs.

The Australian natives have an average life span of 35 years and subsist on a diet of leaves, berries, nuts and acorns.

Months went by without a trace of Buddie.

Then, earlier this month, somebody found an emu in southern Charleston County, a few miles from the couple's farm between Ravenel and Jacksonboro.

The Charleston Animal Society's shelter on Remount Road took it in and a picture ran in the newspaper.

At the time, the Pearsons were on a cruise to Central and South America, but a friend sent them a text message with an attached photo.

"We were hoping it was Buddie, but we really didn't know," he said. "His eyes, they're different from the others."

Back in the Lowcountry, they visited the shelter and knew at first sight: It was him.

The Pearsons picked him up for the ride back to the farm on Monday.

Reach Noah Haglund at 937-5550 or nhaglund@postandcourier.com.