‘Rare occasion indeed.’ Struggling roadrunner rescued outside Las Vegas, cops say

A roadrunner was struggling near a busy Las Vegas intersection.

The young bird was spotted in a “not so good situation” near Las Vegas Boulevard on Monday, Aug. 22, the North Las Vegas Police Department said in a Facebook post. It was stuck in a bush and tangled in trash, according to KLAS.

Police rushed to help the bird. They were able to capture it and get it the help it needed.

Many people made references to the cartoon, “Looney Tunes,” throwing out “meep meep” and Wile E. Coyote references on social media.

“After all these years of unsuccessful attempts by #WileECoyote, it looks like the #NLVPD Animal Protection Service was able to catch up with the #RoadRunner,” police said. “We think the road runner was just as surprised as us!”

Some people had never seen a roadrunner in Nevada before. Police said it doesn’t happen often.

“This is a rare occasion indeed,” police posted on Facebook.

The roadrunner was taken to a veterinarian who specializes in birds. Experts plan to release it back into the wild soon, police said.

Greater roadrunners are about the size of a crow, according to The Cornell Lab. They can weigh between about 8 and 19 ounces.

This story was originally published August 24, 2022 at 9:56 AM with the headline "‘Rare occasion indeed.’ Struggling roadrunner rescued outside Las Vegas, cops say."