RESIDENTS AND PERMANENT GUESTS OF THE ARAB EMIRATES CAN EVEN AND DO NOT SUSPECT THAT IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF RAS AL KHEIM, THERE IS AN EXCITING PLACE - A STRUSY FARM. SHE WITHOUT DOUBT, IT IS WORKING TO GO TO THIS WEEKEND AND MEET THESE AMAZING CREATIONS.
On the farm, ostriches behave the same as in the wild - they chase after each other, flirtatiously curtsy, fancifully open their wings and make contact with pleasure. They are very curious to the world around them, friendly, but cowardly and timid. Like magpies, ostriches pay attention to all the brilliant things - watches, buttons, earrings. Make quick lunges with your head, trying to pinch. Adults love to be photographed. But the nature of these birds is unstable, quick-tempered - a moment, and now the ostriches are in a panic running to where. The wingspan of one such bird looks threatening, but also very beautiful.
They showed us how to calm an ostrich - with a long stick they press their heads to the ground, throw a rag and disorient. Everything! The bird ceases to resist. And so that the little ostriches would not be scared of me, I would always squat down, only then would they come closer with interest, apparently believing that I, too, were from their family. Ostriches are attracted by unfamiliar sounds - soft clapping, a slight whistle. But when adults take at least one step in their direction, they instantly run away. An ostrich’s egg is really like a stone. No wonder, in order to prepare the fried eggs in it with a drill (!), You need to drill a hole. But with one egg you can feed a company of 12 people, and if you cook it, it will take at least 45 minutes. In parting, they gave me some ostrich feathers - I will dust them off the computer, because they have antistatic properties. Thank you, a good thing!
The beauty of these birds, their extraordinary appearance and features of behavior gave rise to many legends. And ostriches immediately hold three records - like the largest birds in the world, the fastest running and carrying the largest eggs! Even in crocodiles, weighing a ton, an egg is no more than a duck. The scientific name of the ostrich is Stuthio camelus (which means bird camel). But indeed, they are similar - bulging eyes, long eyelashes, large body, flexible neck. Ostriches got this name due to the structure of their legs, because in camels it ends with only two powerful, thickened fingers. Such anatomy of the legs allows ostriches to reach speeds of up to 50-70 km / h.
The bird's head is small, flat with large eyes and long eyelashes on the upper eyelid, beak is straight and wide. The ostrich's eyes are the largest among land animals. The eye diameter is 5 cm, and the combined weight of two eyes exceeds the weight of the bird's brain. Surprisingly, the brain of a mature ostrich is equal in size to a golf ball and weighs about 30-40 g. Judging by the size of the brain, an ostrich is practically not able to hold information in its head. But this, perhaps, is not the main thing!
Plumage of ostriches is curly, feathers are soft. Neck, lower leg, legs not feathered. The plumage of an adult male is usually black, the feathers of the wings and tail are pure white; in females the color is gray-brown. Up to a year, both plumage does not differ in color, and only at the age of 14 months the plumage of males changes. Males become adults at 4 years old and reach a height of 2.5-2.7 meters, weigh up to 160 kg, and the wingspan is 2 meters. One of the toes ends with a claw - the bird leans on it when running, making steps up to 4-7 meters; if necessary, birds abruptly change the direction of running, without reducing speed. Even ostriches at the age of one month run at a speed of 50 km / h. Adaptation abilities of ostriches are very high - they withstand heat up to +58 degrees Celsius, swing their wings and create coolness. In cold weather, they cover their lower legs with wings. Birds live up to 70 years.
And he does not sing, and does not fly. What, then, is his bird considered?
Protecting their territory and females, an ostrich can be extremely dangerous and fearlessly go on the attack. Having such a terrible weapon in the arsenal as a large claw and strong legs, the ostrich can cause serious damage. It is dangerous even for large predators - one kick is enough to seriously injure or even kill a lion. The impact force is 50 kg per cm2. Out of danger, birds usually behave peacefully, looking for food. In the wild, ostriches often graze with zebras and even make large movements along the African savannah. Zebras take care of ostriches for their own purposes, because due to their high growth, excellent vision and hearing, birds are the first to notice the danger and take to flight. Ostriches are almost as good as horses in speed and duration of running. But they cannot fly due to their magnificent plumage and body size, despite the well-developed wings.
Ostriches are omnivores and gluttonous. In nature, they usually eat what is available in their habitat at different times of the year. They feed mainly on plants, especially roots, leaves and seeds, but they will not refuse small lizards, insects, and locusts. Eating locusts, ostriches can get very thick, and then their running speed decreases markedly. Ostriches sleep, sitting on the ground with their neck outstretched. Sometimes several times a night they lower their heads, stretch their neck on the ground in front of them. And then the rest of the birds are awake, guarding the sleeping man. Ostriches can go without water for a long time, but they love to swim. Without often having this opportunity, they like to collectively ride in sand and dust, polluting their luxurious feathers. However, this favorite game is of great importance - it allows birds to get rid of parasites.
Ostriches live in a flock. During the breeding season, couples and harems are created - 1 adult male, 4-5 females and young animals. The cry of an ostrich is more like a moan, gradually turning into a hiss. The male calls the female with a guttural cry of “buubuu-uuu” and keeps his distance with other males. The growling of an adult male is obtained from inflation of the neck. In the mating season, the males dance, kneel down, beat their wings rhythmically, throw their head back and rub against her back. Their legs and neck turn red.
Ostriches are caring fathers. An adult male digs a nest 30-60 cm deep in the sand. Even when there are no eggs in the nest, the male periodically cleans it from accidental debris. When eggs are in the nest, hatches them at night, because it is black and it is not visible to predators. The main female lays her eggs in the center of the nest and hatches them in the afternoon, merging with the color of sand and poor vegetation. The remaining females visit the nest only in order to lay another egg and do not take part in hatching. Each female brings up to 12 eggs to a common nest. On average, an egg weighs 2 kg (which equals 25-30 chicken) and has a thick (0.6 mm), shiny shell. The protein in it is 1 kg, the yolk is 500 g. Eggs left unattended can become prey for birds of prey. Vultures, for example, take a stone in its beak and throw it on an egg until it is broken. The broken shell of ostrich eggs resembles crockery.
The incubation period usually lasts 45-52 days. Chicks break the shell with their feet for an hour. A hatched chick weighs about 1 kg and immediately leaves the nest. Its body is covered with rare fluff, similar to hedgehog needles, black and yellow, the neck is dirty white, the head is brownish ...
He is still handsome! Real feathers will appear in the baby only after 2 months. If small ostriches are in danger (hyenas or winged predators), an adult male can pretend to be wounded and run in zigzags for a long time, fall, depicting easy prey. And it will be distracting until the kids get protection from other adult males. And only after that, in front of the amazed predator, it rises and disappears into the distance with the speed of the wind.
But ostriches do not hide their heads in the sand! This is a common myth! In case of danger and inability to escape, the ostrich falls to the ground, while stretching its head and neck on the ground. Since plumage and scalp do not have a pronounced color, they are in harmony with the color of the soil. So, from the side it seems that the ostrich hid its head in the sand, because only the body is clearly visible. Ostriches do the same when sitting on a nest - when a predator appears, they spread their head and neck on the ground. Listening to something, they also lean down, because the sound spreading on the ground is more distinct. The ostrich takes the same position when it rests the muscles of the head and neck. When tired of a long pursuit and running, the ostrich sharply lowers its head and sits itself. And yet - ostriches have no teeth, which means they have to swallow small pebbles and sand to chop food. So the ostrich leans over the pebble you like, taking the pose known to everyone.
The appearance of ostriches on the planet occurred 12 million years ago, in the era of dinosaurs. The trade in their feathers lasts several thousand years, and for a long time occupied the 4th place after gold, diamonds and wool. In ancient Egypt, an ostrich was considered a symbol of truth and justice. The ostrich was so highly honored because, unlike all other birds, the feather of his feather was “fairly” divided by a rod into two absolutely symmetrical parts. An ostrich feather was placed on the scales when weighing the souls of the dead to determine the severity of their sins. Letters were decorated with the sign of an ostrich feather, and noble Egyptian women even rode ostriches on horseback.
During the Roman Empire, ostriches, along with hippos, elephants and lions, were released into the arena of the circus for battles with gladiators, and at the imperial table they treated guests to outlandish ostrich meat food. The famous glutton Aulis Vittelius loved to enjoy not only the nightingale tongues, but also the ostrich brain. In ancient Greece, the ostrich was called Homegas strouthos ("big sparrow"). In Assyria, the shell of the eggs was used as a vessel, and a feather was made of feathers of incredible size. Men of African tribes loved to adorn their military clothing with ostrich feathers.
As early as the 13th century, knights returning from the Crusades introduced the fashion for ostrich feathers adorning helmets in Europe. The end of the 18th century at the court of Marie Antoinette was marked by a fascination with ornaments from the feathers of these birds. They made fans, boas, plumes, decorative elements, outfits for dancers, and much more. Meat and eggs were eaten, skin was used to make clothes and shields. The price of ostriches was very high, and medieval poachers almost exterminated ostriches as a biological species. If they had not been raised on farms, perhaps ostriches would have been completely exterminated these days.
Currently, the African ostrich, due to persecution for luxurious feathers, delicious dietary meat and eggs, has disappeared in many territories, and once the habitat of these birds covered the dry areas of Africa and the Middle East, including Iran, Iraq and Arabia. The Middle Eastern subspecies is considered extinct since 1966.
However, since 1865, 80 tame ostriches appeared in the Cape Colony (South Africa), and by 1886 there were already 150 thousand of them! Ostrich farming is now developing everywhere - in Belgium, the USA, Egypt, China, Finland, Sweden, Russia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine. About 3 million ostriches live on world farms. They easily breed in captivity in sufficient territory. With a lack of space, many farmers use incubators, and then simply graze ostriches like geese. Feathers in adult ostriches are sheared every 8 months, but experts say their feathers are less valuable than in wild counterparts.
Ostriches are not afraid of frost, and are able to withstand temperatures up to -25-30 degrees Celsius. Ostriches meat is dietetic. Scientists have found that it contains 1.5 times less cholesterol and 10 times less fat than other varieties of red meat, and the taste is not inferior to the best beef. Ostrich skin is valuable and luxurious, one of the softest and at the same time the most durable of all exotic types of leather known in the world. It contains many natural oils, it does not dry out, does not crack. In the world market, ostrich skin is valued above elephant and crocodile skin; it has a characteristic pattern defined by feather follicles, and an unusual texture. Shoes, belts, bags, hats are made from it, the best cowboy boots are sewn. Feathers are used to decorate women's clothing, stage costumes, and souvenirs. Ostrich fat (as well as goose fat) has been used in medicine since ancient times, adding it to healing ointments for burns and frostbite, and for treating joints. It has a bactericidal and anti-inflammatory effect, therefore it is widely used in cosmetology for the manufacture of anti-aging creams, balms, soaps; penetrates easily and deeply into the skin. It tastes like butter. Residents of Africa still use the shell of eggs as vessels, braiding them outside with vines and plant branches. The shell is also used to create souvenirs, carvings are made on it, it is varnished and painted. Excursions to ostrich farms bring joy to adults and children, provide an opportunity to watch these amazing birds from close by.
They say that lions are afraid of ostriches because they think that they bury their heads in the sand to sharpen their beaks. You believe?
