Ostrich riding is a popular tourist activity in some parts of the world and you will see plenty of places advertising the opportunity to ride an ostrich, especially in South Africa, where it is particularly popular. Whilst it may look fun, there are actually many reasons why you should NOT ride an ostrich. Read on to find out why you should NEVER ride an ostrich…
Can you ride an ostrich?
Before we look into whether you should ride an ostrich, can you even do it? The answer is yes – in certain places, ostrich riding is available and even a common tourist pastime. This tends to be in countries like South Africa, particularly in the Oudtshoorn area. It is less popular now, but still an activity that is available to tourists.
Ostrich riding: should you do it?
As with any tourist activity that involves animals, ostrich riding comes with many questions surrounding the ethics and morals.
Ostriches are beautiful, majestic creatures and – with all animals – do not exist purely for human entertainment.
Ostriches are actually not built to take the weight of a human being: ostriches are birds, not mammals, and there is just no circumstance in the wild in which they would have to withstand such a weight on their backs. Ostrich riding farms do put a weight limit on guests who want to ride an ostrich, but there is an argument for not riding them at all. Their bone structure will weaken over time as they continually put up with this weight, and on top of this the ostriches will likely be in pain.
As an animal lover, you likely don’t want to see an animal in pain at all. You would especially not want to see an animal in pain for human entertainment, which is one reason why you shouldn’t ride an ostrich. Pain makes people grumpy, and animals feel this too. If you put stress and physical pain on an ostrich, it is likely to turn violent and vicious.
Is ostrich riding dangerous?
As briefly mentioned, ostriches can turn violent in response to stress and pain.
Ostriches are especially violent when frightened – and while ostriches in captivity probably aren’t too frightened of humans due to their extensive exposure to us, there is still a chance that you might do something to scare the ostrich, resulting in an attack.
When frightened, ostriches can reach speeds of 45 miles per hour. They can also give quite a hefty kick – a kick from an ostrich is powerful enough to seriously injure or even kill a predator such as a lion. Do you really fancy your chances against the world’s largest living bird?
On top of the risk of attack, ostrich riding can be dangerous due to those high speeds. There is always the chance you could fall off and injure yourself while riding an ostrich. It is safer all around to just avoid this activity!
DID YOU KNOW: “One of the most interesting ostrich-attack stories involved the American musician Johnny Cash, who kept an exotic animal park with ostriches on his property. Cash encountered an aggressive male ostrich several times during his walks in the woods in 1981. On one occasion, Cash brandished a 6-foot stick and swung it at the bird, who dodged the swipe and slashed at Cash with its foot. Cash noted that the blow struck him in the stomach, and if it weren’t for a strong belt buckle, he said that the ostrich’s toe claw would have cut his abdomen open and killed him”
Britannica
ABTA and ostrich riding
The Association of British Travel Agents is a group you will likely have heard of. ABTA is there to ensure certain standards are upheld when it comes to travelling and especially package holidays. Its animal welfare guidance for travel providers (updated in 2019) includes a list of ‘Unacceptable practices involving animals in captive attractions’, which you can see below:
- Animal breeding or commercial trade in sanctuaries and orphanages
- Any tourist holding of, or photo opportunity with, wild animals where the animal does not have the choice of terminating the interaction or moving away
- Performances or tourist interactions involving wild animals where training involves punishment or food deprivation, causes the animal fear, injury or distress, or the tasks are not based on normal behaviour
- Tourist contact or feeding elephants without a barrier
- Elephant shows or performances for tourists
- Tourist contact, feeding of and “walking with” wild cats
- Contact with or feeding of crocodiles or alligators
- Tourist contact or feeding of great apes (chimpanzees, orangutans, gorillas, bonobos)
- Contact with or feeding of bears
- Tourist contact or feeding of sloths
- The feeding of animals with live vertebrate prey
- Canned hunting
- Ostrich riding (observing or participating)
- Unlicensed zoos
ABTA provides guidance for its members and their suppliers. This ensures that ABTA travel providers will not sell animal attractions such as ostrich riding. The upholding of these standards and guidelines is how you know an ABTA-protected holiday is safe for everybody involved.
Facts about ostriches
Generally, it is widely accepted that ostrich riding is something that tourists shouldn’t engage in when travelling. As visitors fall out of love with the idea, fewer and fewer farms offer the option to ride ostriches now. This is undoubtedly a good thing, and should be celebrated. Instead, they focus on the education of visitors. Here are some fun facts about ostriches – they really are magnificent birds!
There are plenty of them
The common ostrich is listed as ‘Least Concern’ by the IUCN, although the closely related Somali ostrich is classed as Vulnerable. This means there are plenty of ostriches in existence and there are no worries surrounding them becoming endangered any time soon. They are brilliant birds, and by phasing out ostrich riding activities they are going to be around for a long time.
They are huge
As mentioned, ostriches are the biggest living birds. Males can grow to around 210-275 cm, with females at around 175-190 cm. They’re heavy, too, with males weighing up to 156 kg and females weight up to around 110 kg. Their wings reach a span of around 2 metres, too.
Ostriches can live up to around 40 years, which is pretty good innings… On top of this, their eggs are the largest of any living bird. They weigh around 1.3–1.4 kilograms, which makes sense given how big ostriches can grow to be.
Eggs are incubated for up to 45 days
Those giant eggs are incubated by the dominant female during the day, and by the male at night. Females blend in with the sand during the day making eggs less easy to detect, while male ostriches are darker and therefore provide camouflage at night.
The aforementioned dominant female actually incubates all of the herd’s eggs, at least in the wild. Her nest is around 3 metres in diameter.
During the breeding season, males establish territories and may mate with several females, who often lay their eggs in the same nest. Outside the breeding season, ostriches often live in nomadic groups of around 5 to 50 birds, sometimes mixing with grazing animals such as zebras and antelopes.
Ostriches are mostly vegetarian
Ostriches tend to eat seeds, leaves, succulents and grass. Sometimes they swallow plants whole by pulling them up from the root – in order to aid with the digestion of these, they also eat pebbles and sand. They have been known to eat insects and very small vertebrates too, but mostly live on a herbivore’s diet.
Ostriches can survive for long periods without drinking, as they get much of the water they need from the plants they eat – but they will drink when water is available.
They have three stomachs
Ostriches are often described as having three stomachs. Their intestine is also really long – it can take around 36 hours for them to digest food.
Food first passes into the proventriculus, a glandular stomach that releases digestive juices. It then moves into the gizzard, a muscular stomach that uses the stones and pebbles the ostrich has swallowed to grind tough plant material, before passing into the intestines.
This complex system helps ostriches to get as many nutrients as possible from a tough, fibrous diet.
Ostriches are the only didactyl birds
This means they only have two toes per foot. Most other birds have three or four toes, but as ostriches have two they’re really unique. This is what helps them run so fast – as discussed in the ostrich riding part of this post, they are speedy. Ostriches can actually run up to 50km/ph for half an hour – but if need be, when predators are around, they can get up to around 70 kilometres per hour.
Don’t be fooled, though. They are incredibly graceful even at these high speeds!
Ostrich riding: FAQs
Below are answers to some of the most common questions about ostrich riding.
Can you ride an ostrich?
Yes, some farms, particularly in South Africa, have offered ostrich riding to tourists. However, it is widely considered unethical, and many farms have stopped offering it.
Why is ostrich riding bad?
Ostriches are not built to carry the weight of a person, so riding can cause them pain, stress and long-term injury. It also puts riders at risk of falls and kicks.
Does ABTA allow ostrich riding?
No. ABTA’s animal welfare guidance for travel providers lists ostrich riding, including watching ostrich races or rides, as an unacceptable practice.
How fast can an ostrich run?
Ostriches can sprint at around 70 km/h (about 43 mph) and maintain speeds of around 50 km/h for long periods, making them the fastest birds on land.
Are ostriches dangerous?
Ostriches can be dangerous when frightened or stressed. Their powerful kicks and sharp toe claws can cause serious injuries to people and predators.
To conclude: Why ostrich riding is bad
Ostriches are fascinating animals and it is great fun to visit ostrich farms and learn all about them. But human beings should never ever ride an ostrich because it is painful and unethical!
If you enjoyed this article, you may also like:
- The best ostrich farms in Oudtshoorn to visit
- Wildlife tourism: The good the bad and the ugly
- The shocking truth about elephant riding in Thailand
- 6 reasons why you should never swim with dolphins
- What is ethical tourism?
- South Africa with a Baby (+ a baby bump)
