The Fourways Ostrich and What to Do When You See Wildlife at Risk

Photo Credit: Screengrab

An ostrich was filmed running along the highway near Fourways, Johannesburg – A call went out to rescue the bird, and the community rallied!

Fourways, South Africa (29 July 2022) – Fourways really is the urban jungle! The Northern Johannesburg suburb has had many wild encounters over the years. The first big sighting we heard about, was a Hippo that had ventured up the river from Haartebeespoort Dam, the second was a lost male Baboon and now, it’s an Ostrich.

In each case, the animals were quickly aided by local animal welfare organisations.

The video of the Ostrich was sent early in the morning, and people started rallying to get the bird off the highway and safely placed somewhere where it can be checked and treated if necessary.

In the case of the hippo, the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) monitored it, and eventually, it went back to the dam where it came from. The baboon was thankfully caught by CLAW after it was tracked all the way to Sandton, where it took up residence in a hotel for a few hours.

The video of the big bird was sent along to various Community Security Groups in a bid to rally support for its rescue. The local animal welfare community had been called upon to assist in capturing the bird and taking it to safety.

The Owl Rescue Centre came to the rescue and worked tirelessly to rescue the ostrich. Sadly, as they explained, ostriches suffer from capture myopathy and that coupled with the stress of being on the highway for six hours, led to her passing away as soon as they managed to catch her. They spent 20 minutes doing CPR in the hopes of resuscitating her but sadly their efforts couldn’t save her. You can read the full scope of their efforts here.

The loss of such a beautiful animal begs the question, what does one do if they see a wild animal in distress?

There are hundreds of organisations you can reach out to for assistance. If you are not sure, start by calling your local SPCA – we have a helpful list of all the SPCA branches in South Africa so go find yours and save their contact details in your phone. The SPCA will be able to action surrounding and relevant animal rescue organisations as well as pull in the local authorities as needed.

If you do know a local animal welfare group that specialises in care of certain animals, call them straight away.