An ostrich is not easy to chase down, even with the advantage of modern automobiles. These beautiful creatures can sprint north of 40 mph and cruise comfortably at around 30 mph. This particular ostrich named Tadori fled from a zoo named Bug City in Seongnam, South Korea, and ran wild for about an hour before he was corralled and returned in stable condition, as reported by Reuters.
We’ve got several different angles from ABC News and Reuters below for your viewing pleasure.
Can’t say I recall an ostrich breaking out of a zoo before. You usually only see them in action on those wildlife shows. Additionally, I can’t help but have this on loop in my head/playing in a separate window while beholding this ostrich footage:
Now there is a sad undercurrent to this story. Zoo owner Choi Yun-joo revealed to Reuters that Tadori’s female ostrich friend (his only friend), Tasooni, died approximately a month ago. That might’ve been part of the explanation for the 4-year-old Tadori’s episode of erratic behavior that led to his escape.
Ostriches are among the most fascinating animals in the world to me. How they’re that big and generate that much speed is truly one of the most mind-boggling phenomenons in all of nature. They look equal parts graceful and goofy when they’re on the move at such incredible velocity.
I’d love to bear witness to this. Being stuck in traffic sucks, but if an ostrich suddenly weaves in and out of lanes? Sign me up. Highly envious of the individuals who got to see this in real time.
Also, would like to give some love to the people who managed to catch the ostrich with some netting in a parking lot after an hour-long chase. The ostrich returned to the zoo in stable condition, and wasn’t harmed. That’s how you do it. In the Reuters video, you can see the scene when the ostrich was finally captured. It doesn’t look pretty, but you have to keep him under control somehow.
All’s well that ends well, I suppose. Tadori had to be hyped to break free for a little while. Even if it was quite stressful and overwhelming for him, getting to open up the strides like that had to feel great. Everyone keep Tadori in your thoughts, though, because him losing Tasooni is definitely heartbreaking.
