Police in the German district of Nordhausen on Sunday said they were forced to shoot a large flightless bird that posed a threat to road users.

The 12-year-old bird was said to have escaped from an enclosure near the small town of Schlotheim, in the central eastern state of Thuringia, and was spotted in a field near a country road.

Why did police shoot the bird?

After an extensive search by the fire department and police, the bird — named "Nando" by its owner — was found in a field.

Authorities feared it might pose a danger to motorists using the nearby road, particularly when it started to run toward the highway.

However, the police said that every attempt to capture the animal failed and that even the owner who arrived on site was unable to tame it.

"'Nando' probably felt threatened by the fire department and police and became increasingly aggressive," said the police, who referred to the bird as an "emu."

After a "wild chase" across the adjacent field, police said Nando turned around again and ran towards the emergency services.

"To avert any danger to the emergency services and other road users, the 'EMU' was fired upon when the operational tactical requirements were met."

Police said the bird was taken away by the owner for disposal.

A case of mistaken identity?

While police identified the bird as an emu, the photos published were of a Greater rhea, a bird native to South America that has been spreading through Germany.

The German wild population is descended from a few breeding pairs that escaped from an exotic meat farm near Lübeck, a city in northern Germany, in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

They migrated to Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and settled in the extensive fields and meadows of the UNESCO-listed Schaalsee Biosphere Reserve, where they thrived.

Farmers have been lobbying the government to expand their efforts and allow the male birds to be shot. However, the species is not listed as an invasive species as they do not cause damage to native fauna and flora.