Amy Love

Opinions Editor 

aml7458@psu.edu 

On the morning of February 4, traffic began backing up at W. 38th and Cherry St. in Erie, Pennsylvania. The issue that led to this traffic delay was caused by a wandering chicken. 

The police did have to step in to redirect traffic in order to keep the area running smoothly, and to ensure the animal was not injured. The local Erie Zoo was able to successfully rescue the hen, and take her there temporarily. 

The staff at the zoo kept the chicken for the weekend, allowing her to rest and stay warm. The hen was kept in quarantine, which is a protocol the zoo enforces for all of its new animals. 

According to the zoo staff she is in great health and is a “very happy, friendly, bird.” 

Through a Facebook post, the zoo spent the weekend encouraging the owner or anyone who may know the owner to message the Erie Zoo’s Facebook page. 

Making light of the situation, the zoo staff included a joke in their post. They wrote “she has yet to answer the question of why she was crossing the snowy road though.” 

There was an animal keeper that worked for the zoo that was willing to take care of the animal at their own home, if the owner were to never get in contact. The original owner never contacted the zoo through the Facebook page. 

The zoo announced on February 7 that the animal keeper would officially be taking the hen home. The nickname Cherry was given to the hen. 

Zoo officials said, “We sure are glad this chicken crossed the road to get to the Erie Zoo and we think she is too!”