Cape Town Daily Photo

An ostrich family


Click on the photo to see the large version - isn't the baby ostrich cute? :)

Ostriches are native to Africa and are (as I guess many of you will know) the largest bird in the world. At a hefty mass of around 120kg, and with proportionally tiny wings, it's no wonder that ostriches don't fly. What I found surprising however was that a bird of that mass is able to run at approximately 70kph! Not bad going hey!?

If you do visit South Africa, you may come across ostrich fillet steak on our restaurant menus, or in our supermarkets. The meat looks a lot like beef steak; only darker in colour and with no visible fat. In fact, it's an extremely healthy alternative to beef steak since it tastes a lot like beef but contains very little fat or cholesterol.