Rheas Home, Safe and Well!

Many, many thanks to all those who helped recapture, were unwilling landlords, or scoured the countryside looking for our two boys! After 21 days and over 150 hours of searching, the two were both tempted back home through their stomachs (typical males!).

I can't say what a relief it is to no longer be waking up in the morning to face another probably fruitless day of searching - and my chances of finding and bringing them home without the help of so many friends, family and total strangers would have been very slim indeed! 

Incidentally, these birds have been kept behind stock fence without problems all of their lives, and the two escapees were over 6. Like most horses, they are happy where they live and respect the fences. But fear raises adrenalin levels, and adrenalin gives that extra energy and courage to push a creature higher and faster - that is what it's for! At the end of the day, rhea are birds. They might not be able to fly, but they have a pretty good bounce! By pushing off of lower bars they can effectively climb, and vault over the top of a fence or gate using their strong neck muscles to help them sideways over the top, and their large wings to give them lift and balance. My guess would be that they could clear 6ft if adrenalin was high enough, in a "run or die" situation. If they failed, then they might very well die of heart attack or injuries incurred, whilst repeatedly trying.

Adult rhea are also capable of delivering a very effective peck or a fatal kick to a dog (or fox), and will do so in self defence. Fortunately for this dog, our birds are not used to having to protect themselves against domestic animals and caught unawares, their first instinct was to run.