Five of the twelve rheas have now been caught and returned safely to the farm – but the rest remain at large. PHOTO BY AMY WATSON/SWNS
Five of the twelve rheas have now been caught and returned safely to the farm – but the rest remain at large.
A flock of wild and ‘dangerous’ South American ostriches or rheas have escaped from a farm and are terrorizing people in a small town in England.
Volunteers are using quad bikes and drones to try and capture them.
Twelve rheas – large flightless birds distantly related to ostriches and emus – escaped from the farm near
Stalham, Norfolk, earlier this week.
The birds, which are considered dangerous, are believed to have forced their way out of their enclosure.
Residents in the market town woke up to find them in their gardens and marauding through the streets.
South American ostriches on the loose in Stalham, England.
Resident Amy Watson, 26, was driving down Lyndford Road at around 5.45 am when the birds came charging toward her.
The mom said: “Five of the birds came running towards my car.
“I thought I was seeing things and I had to double-take.
Amy Watson, 26, was driving when two groups of South American ostriches, aka rheas, came charging toward her.
“They were running in gardens and peering in people’s windows.
“They ran off in the other direction, but then further down the road another group of four came charging towards me.”
The greater rhea is a species of flightless bird native to eastern South America.
The farm the birds escaped from also keeps camels and donkeys.
Stock photo of a rhea otherwise known as a South American ostrich.
A team of rescuers has since been searching fields in Stalham and the surrounding areas, using drones and quad bikes to track down the escapees.
Five of the twelve rheas have now been caught and returned safely to the farm – but the rest remain at large.
Rheas are considered dangerous due to their six-inch claws and can potentially kill with their kicks.
A rhea that escaped from captivity in Hertfordshire in 2014 prompted a warning from the RSPCA, who said: “Rheas are large birds and have the potential to be dangerous as they are strong, fast and have sharp claws.
“Our advice to the general public is to keep well away.”
Produced in association with SWNS Talker
Edited by Asad Ali and Saba Fatima
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