Not only can ostriches sprint to that speed, but they can run for a long time. There have been nine species of ostriches to have existed, but the only living ones left are the Common ostrich Struthio camelus and Somali or Blue-necked ostrich Struthio molybdophanes. Common ostriches live in different parts of Africa depending on the subspecies.
There are three subspecies of the common ostrich:. Ostriches will typically avoid humans. That being said, there are areas where people can ride an ostrich, which is a tourist attraction in places like South Africa. There are several reasons why they can run as fast as they do. The springy step mixed with their long legs gives ostriches quite the stride length, measuring up to 16 feet 5 meters! So ostriches can be perfectly balanced when running at high speeds.
Because of this, ostriches can then focus all of their leg power on running instead of keeping balanced. Finally, despite being flightless birds, ostriches use their wings. They use them to balance and maneuver when they run so fast. The two biggest reasons why ostriches need to run are similar to most creatures: to escape predators and to look for food. They expend the majority of their energy in order to go forward.
Most of us aren't Olympians when it comes to running. Because our muscles have to keep us moving in a straight line, we get tired easily. Ostriches have a very efficient strategy. They can move forward with all of their physical force because their center of gravity maintains them perfectly balanced. You now have a better understanding of how quickly an ostrich can run. But why do ostriches sprint so quickly? Ostriches can run at speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour.
As you can see from this list of Africa's fastest antelope, that max speed is similar to that of many African antelope. As a result, we can hypothesize that ostriches run quickly to avoid their predators.
After all, if they can't fly, they'll have to find another way to get away. As a result, ostriches can sprint quickly to dodge the most dangerous predators. They may also run for large distances to evade hyenas. Hyenas and wild dogs pursue down their prey over large distances, exhausting it. Hyenas and wild dogs, on the other hand, lack the ostrich's extraordinary endurance and speed.
Ostriches have evolved to survive in arid regions. As a result, they must travel large distances to find food. Ostriches can also run quickly in order to discover new feeding areas quickly. The sight of an ostrich running is breathtaking. One of the joys of an African safari is tracking an ostrich across a long distance. The safari truck frequently can't keep up with the ostriches as they run and run and run.
When most people see an ostrich, they think to themselves, "What a foolish looking animal! Skip to main content. How fast can an ostrich run? Using their wings Humans have tailbones, which are the superfluous bones at the bottom of our spine that serve no purpose.
Elastic legs What is the fastest speed an ostrich can run? A perfect centre of gravity These flightless birds don't appear to be in good running shape. That is why an ostrich can run at 60 kilometers per hour for such a long distance. Escaping predators Ostriches can run at speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour.
Fresh grazing pastures Ostriches have evolved to survive in arid regions. Hopefully, you will see one sprinting through the African plains soon. Ostriches can't fly - they are simply far too large and heavy. To get from A to B, ostriches rely on their powerful legs, but their wings do also have a part to play, despite them being flightless.
So how fast can an ostrich run, and how have they become so adept at running given their enormous size and weight? Ostriches have a sprint speed of around 40 to 45mph and can cover a huge 5 metres in one single stride. They have been known to approach speeds of 60mph during short bursts, which makes them the fastest terrestrial animal with two legs on the planet.
Ostriches also have tremendous stamina and can maintain speeds of 30mph to 38mph for around half an hour or longer.
That means that they can run a mile marathon in approximately 35 to 40 minutes. For comparison, the human marathon record is just over 2 hours. In addition to their world-record size, weight and speed, ostriches also have the largest eyes of any bird and can see large predators such as lions and hyenas at distances of some 2 miles. In fact, with a diameter of 5cm, their eyes are bigger than their brains!
There are actually just two species of ostrich in the world; the Common ostrich and the Somali ostrich. The Common ostrich is the biggest, but Somali ostriches aren't far behind. Both species of ostrich can easily exceed running speeds of 40mph and can cover 5 metres in one single stride. Some ostriches have been measured to reach speeds of some 60mph over very short distances. This comfortably makes the ostrich the fastest running bird in the world. In fact, they are the fastest land running animal on two legs.
Ostriches have huge legs that are around 40cm to 55cm in length. Their legs contain twice as much elastic energy as human legs, thanks to their large, lengthy and powerful tendons.
Ostrich legs are powered by large, well-developed leg muscles that enable the entire length of the leg to swing forward and back at high speeds. Their legs are also thick and robust - one well-placed ostrich kick can kill a lion. Moreover, ostriches have big, round and balanced bodies, which help them remain stable despite their great height. Their centre of gravity is perfectly tuned for running. Despite being flightless, ostriches use their large 2m wings to help stay balanced at high speeds, which is essential to ensure that they don't easily fall and injure themselves when running.
Ostriches are physiologically built for running.
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