Penn State University Police were sent on a wild hen chase yesterday.

Several officers were seen running around outside of Rec Hall. They weren't enjoying a jog in the warm weather -- instead, they were trying to catch five loose guinea fowl.

University Police Supervisor Frank Ball said police received a call yesterday afternoon that five guinea hens were spotted around Rec Hall, Warnock Commons and the Sigma Nu fraternity house, 340 N. Burrowes Road.

"We don't know where the hens came from, why they're here or who's responsible," Ball said.

Shortly after police surveyed the scene -- one bird hiding behind a bush, another perched on a ledge of Warnock Commons and the others snooping around behind the fraternity house -- they called a local pest control company to come to the rescue.

Mike Kerlin, an employee of Pest Control Innovations in Pleasant Gap, approached his first prospect.

The bird flapped its wings and flew toward the police officers, startling them all.

Daniel Frechen (sophomore-theatre) was the hero of the day -- he caught the flailing bird and brought it to the cage Kerlin provided.

The unruly bird was not Frechen's first capture of the day.

He quietly caught another hen just minutes earlier, depositing it in the cage.

"I tried catching him earlier this morning and got all scratched up," Frechen said showing off a cluster of 6-inch scratches on his inner arm while he held the bird.

Frechen said the birds attracted a large crowd of curious students earlier in the day. Many tried to get close to the birds, while others questioned why they were there. No one had the answer, though.

Eugene Krout, a group leader of the poultry department in the College of Agricultural Sciences, said the lab has no guinea fowl, and the birds did not come from the college.

Crossing the street, Kerlin, Ball and several others attempted to catch the fowl that found a home on the second-floor ledge of Warnock Commons. When the bird saw Kerlin coming, it quickly flew away and joined his other feathered friends near the Sigma Nu house.

One by one, the birds slowly made it into the cage. University Police Supervisor Jason Zajac said the birds were released at the Scotia State Game Land.

One bird, however, refused to be a prisoner of the cage.

Police said that they thought it flew into Rec Hall and was nowhere to be seen.

Collegian staff member Michael Ghourdjian contributed to this report.