The ostrich has long been used as a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of procrastination and the need to be proactive, to take the offence not the defence.  In reality, the ostrich does teach these messages, but by example of what to do rather than what not to do.

In fact, the ostrich doesn’t bury his head in the sand at all.  He has the largest eye of any land animal, measuring almost 5 cm across, allowing predators such as lions to be seen at long distances.   His natural response is to watch for trouble, and take flight (metaphorically) at speeds of up to 70 kms per hour.  Alternatively, he will take on an attacker directly with a full frontal kick that can be lethal to human and lion alike.

This amusing video demonstrates the ostrich’s speed and endurance.

The Ostrich performs a complex mating ritual best displayed in this x-rated video:

The ostrich lives by that human maxim, it takes a village to raise a child.  A harem consists of a male and his queen along with a couple of subordinate females.  All females lay their eggs in the same nest, and the queen incubates all the eggs.  The male plays a large part in raising the young, from helping to construct the nest to guarding the eggs and chasing off predators.

We have seen ostriches wherever we went, but of course we would see many in Etosha.  While the males fanned their wings to cool themselves, the ladies took to their boudoir and had a beautifying dry mud bath.  First, this one performed the cleansing to rid itself of mites and parasites –

– and then performed an inspection –

– not satisfied, like shampoo, it was rinse and repeat –

– and she was ready for her BFFs’ inspection –

Success! Her beau was ready to impress her with a little en pointe –

“Next!” – 

There is something about this 8 ft tall, 300-lb, formidable creature that just brings a smile.

Best,

Jan