GALVESTON, Texas — Police in coastal Texas have captured a pair of runaway emus that had been on the lam for a day after escaping from their owner’s backyard.

Emus aren’t permitted in Galveston, but police say a man recently brought the large, flightless birds to the island after the death of his mother. She’d owned them at her home near Houston.

The Galveston County Daily News reports the emus escaped their new owner’s backyard sometime Monday. Police recaptured the birds near an elementary school Tuesday morning.

Officials say the birds’ owner didn’t realize Galveston had a ban on emus and that he’s working with authorities to find an off-island home for them.