Africa. Driving along the coast of the Cape Of Good Hope, we came across 2 ostriches just hanging out by the side of the road. I hadn’t realized how big these birds can get with males reaching up to 9 feet in height and weighing over 300 pounds.
And they can’t even fly, but they sure can run. An ostrich can sprint over 43 miles an hour. And with those strong legs they can kick a lion or human to death in one quick thrust. Yikes!
So it is interesting that ostriches are raced in Africa and even some parts of the US with a jockey on their back, just like horses. Of course there is much debate about the cruelty of this practice, but then again we eat ostrich meat, enjoy their eggs (one ostrich egg is the equivalent of 24 chicken eggs, use their skin for leather and adorn our hats with their feathers (ok, some people do although they don’t do much justice to my baseball hats).
And what about one of my favorite sayings that ostriches stick their head in the sand to avoid conflict, just like I try to do. Unfortunately, it is not true. They will lie down and press their head and long neck to the ground to be less visible if danger approaches, but they don’t bury their heads. Damn. I guess I’ll just have to come up with another saying.