OUDTSHOORN NEWS - When you visit one or all of the ostrich farms around Oudtshoorn, you can go prepared with some ostrich facts of your own.
While on the subject, our ostriches would like you to know and spread the word that ostriches definitely do not stick their heads in the ground to try and hide.
Here are some facts about these strange flightless birds:
Ostriches have the biggest eyes of any land mammal – almost 5cm across – and three sets of eyelids. They can spot predators from a long distance.
They have three stomachs. Since they lack teeth, they swallow small stones to grind their food, and an adult ostrich carries nearly one kilogram of pebbles in its stomach.
Ostriches can go without drinking for several days, absorbing moisture from the food they eat, but they do enjoy water and will even bath in it if there is enough.
An ostrich can reach up to 70km/h and cover 5m in a single stride when at full speed.
Ostriches are good at martial arts and a single forward kick is capable of killing a person or a predator.
Although their wings are useless for flying, ostriches use them as rudders to change direction when running.
Territorial fights between males for a harem of two to seven females usually last just minutes, but they can easily cause death because they slam their heads into their opponents.
All of the herd's hens put their eggs in the nest of the dominant hen and there can be dozens of eggs in a nest. One egg weighs as much as two dozen chicken eggs.
The eggs are incubated by the dominant female by day and by the male at night and hatch after 35 to 45 days.
The wild ostrich population has declined drastically in the last 200 years, with most surviving birds in protected game parks or reserves, or on farms.
Source: www.travelafricamag.com
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