The Arignar Anna Zoological Park in Vandalur recently opened an ostrich-viewing gallery for visitors.
The zoo is the only one of its kind in the country where an ostrich has incubated and hatched its eggs naturally. There are 13 ostriches at the zoo. Officials said they bought a pair of ostriches from the animal husbandry department’s farm in Kattupakkam in 2009. Two years later, the female laid seven eggs, of which six hatched.
In 2012, the female laid six more eggs, but only two hatched. In January this year, the bird laid six eggs again, and two of them hatched.
During observation, zoo officials noticed baby ostriches getting crushed by the adult birds while playing together.
Following this, separate enclosures were created for the baby ostriches to grow in and get accustomed to climatic conditions, which help in reducing mortality rates.
The world’s largest flightless bird is widely hunted for its feathers (for decorative purposes), meat, skin (leather) and eggs. Considered the largest living bird species and the fastest (an average speed of 50 km per hour), ostriches are mostly found in East Africa.
Zoo will be open on TuesdaysVandalur zoo will be opened to visitors on Tuesdays (December 23 and 30) till the year-end. Usually, Tuesday is a weekly holiday for the zoo and the Guindy National Park.
Zoo officials said the decision has been taken after considering demands of students and the general public.
As many schools have declared half-yearly holidays, it has been decided to keep the zoo open for the convenience of young visitors. Guindy National Park too will be open on these days.
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