Super quick working ostrich sparks motorway chaos after escaping its enclosure
A pet ostrich sparked motorway chaos after bolting from an animal-themed café and sprinting down a three-lane highway, forcing drivers to slow and swerve before it was finally caught
A pet ostrich freaking out on a busy highway caused chaos (Image: WION/YouTube)
A pet ostrich freaking out on a busy highway caused chaos after escaping from an animal-themed café. The six-month-old male bird was filmed sprinting down a three-lane highway in Thailand’s coastal Chonburi province, with cars and lorries whizzing past as a driver followed close behind.
In the clip, which has since gone viral, motorist Chairat Sompong can be heard saying: “Who lost an ostrich on the road? Come get him.
“He runs so fast.” Chairat, 33, later told AFP he first came across a tailback on his way home.
He recalled: “At first, I thought it was an accident but when I drove close, I saw an ostrich running in the middle lane.”
He added the bird “looked afraid and panicked”, explaining he tried to encourage it towards the left lane, where it eventually stopped running, AFP reported. The ostrich, named B1, was eventually rounded up around 15 kilometres (nine miles) from its enclosure in the resort town of Pattaya, according to owner Itsara Boriboon.
“I was mortified and worried,” Itsara, 43, told AFP. “I was concerned he might have had an accident.”
He said he bought B1 and a female ostrich, B2, five months ago for 15,000 baht (£345), and claimed neither had ever escaped before. Itsara, who runs a cat café that also keeps the two ostriches, said staff told him B1 broke out after being startled by the noise of a lorry delivering building materials.
The person who caught B1 later got in touch with Itsara, who then drove to a neighbouring province to collect his pet. “I will have to take care of them very well from now on so that this kind of incident will not happen again,” he said.
Ostriches are the fastest birds on land, with top sprint speeds typically put at around 43 to 45mph (70–72km/h). They can reach these bursts when escaping predators, but they are also known for being exceptional long-distance runners.
In a full sprint, an ostrich can hit 43–45mph, with some reports suggesting they may briefly reach as high as 60mph (97km/h) in extreme bursts. Unlike many animals that quickly tire after a dash, ostriches can also keep up a strong pace over distance.
Researchers say they can maintain a steady speed of roughly 30–37mph (48–60km/h) for long stretches, sometimes for 30 minutes or more. Put into perspective, that kind of pace would make them vastly quicker than humans over long distances, with claims an ostrich could theoretically complete a 26-mile marathon in about 40 minutes, compared with the human world record of around two hours.
Their speed comes down to a number of physical advantages. At full tilt, an ostrich’s stride can stretch around 10 to 16 feet (3–5 metres), allowing it to cover huge ground with each step.
They also have specialised feet, they are the only birds with just two toes on each foot, with the larger toe acting like a hoof to boost grip and efficiency. Although they can’t fly, ostriches use their wings for balance, helping them steer and change direction quickly while running.
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