Monster bird stalking Scottish village is a rhea…and you don’t want to upset him

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The mystery surrounding a family of enormous ostrich-like birds spotted running wild around a Scottish village last week, confounding and alarming everyone, has been partially solved, but the super-sized and reportedly aggressive avians remain on the loose.

A 6ft-bird accompanied by chicks was seen several times close to the East Ayrshire village of Patna last week, prompting police to caution locals against approaching the creature over concerns that it might attack.

‘We are warning members of the public not to approach the adult ostrich and to especially avoid approaching its young, as ostriches can be very protective and can become extremely aggressive,’ said SPCA Animal Rescue Officer Alistair Hill, amid confusion about where the clearly non-native birds had come from.

However, over the weekend it has transpired that the animals are not ostriches at all, but rheas, a species of massive, flightless birds native to South America, which is related to the ostrich. Known in Spanish as Ñandú Común, rheas are normally found in Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. Reaching a height of 140cm and a weight of 25kg, they are the largest bird in the Americas.

The big bird on the loose with several youngsters in Scotland is believed to be a male rhea, as it's the father that typically incubates eggs and raises the chicks, while the female goes off to mate with other males.
The big bird on the loose with several youngsters in Scotland is believed to be a male rhea, as it’s the father that typically incubates eggs and raises the chicks, while the female goes off to mate with other males.

rhea with young
Local couple, Elaine and Ian Wilson, bought three rheas six years ago to keep as pets, before recently deciding to sell them. When a prospective buyer visited their farm, however, one of the birds panicked and jumped over a stone wall.

Quite how he got his young out remains a mystery, but the family of escapees have remained on the loose around the usually quiet village on the banks of the River Doon, despite a major bird hunt, and now a twitter account has been set up in the dad rhea’s name.

The so-called ‘Patna Ostrich’ has attracted quite a following, with nearly 900 followers now tracing his life on the run, many applauding his paternal instincts and libertarian ideals.

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