Ostriches on the Loose

Ostriches+on+the+Loose

Beth Thompson, Reporter

On January 8, many citizens were shocked to see something other than cars and people traveling the city’s roads and sidewalks. They saw ostriches. In Chongzuo, China, over 80 ostriches escaped from a local ostrich farm. It happened when one of the workers accidentally failed to lock the pen containing the feathery fowl, according to India Times. The farm itself has raised over 300 ostriches over the course of its operation. After realizing the gate was unlocked, the birds then took to the streets, puzzling and even frightening some during their adventure. While many people decided to record videos and upload them to social media, some decided to run when seeing a small herd of 7 feet tall birds running around the corner at them. Many of the 80 ostriches were split up into smaller groups while they ran through the city streets. The ostriches were seemingly unfazed by human presence. In a few videos the birds are seen standing only a few feet away from people while they try to shoo them away from storefronts and sidewalks. Although they can run up to 43 miles per hour, they did happen to slow down traffic in the area. With help from the local police, the farm owner was able to get most of the ostriches home unharmed according to UPI. Thankfully no damage was done by or to any of the birds, and they gave a lot of people in the city of Chongzuo a funny story to tell, they may have also given some people nightmares.