Ostrich runs wild in Tonbridge Wells

Tunbridge Wells, England – Commuters in this city of 56,000 people west of Kent were treated to a most extraordinary cause for a traffic delay: an ostrich running rampant. However, had it not been for its erratic behavior it may not have caused much of delay given that it was able to run parallel with vehicles at 40mph.

Local Colin Grant, 45, said: “It was dashing around pretty fast – when I first saw it it overtook me and I was doing about 30mph, so it must have been going at 40mph plus.

“It was a very curious sight – it must have escaped from an ostrich farm nearby.”

This particular ostrich was still young and at 2 feet tall is roughly the size of a wild turkey. Had it reached adult age, it would have measured as tall as 9 feet and been capable of burst speeds of 60mph. Regardless, the mere sight of the bird keeping pace with vehicles was enough to provoke cars to hit their brakes. The resulting traffic backup added an additional 20 minutes to the morning commute between the 8:30AM and 9:00AM rush hour.

The bird had wandered away from a nearby ostrich farm. Commuters were quite taken by the bird and rolled open windows to catch a photograph of it.

On The Web:
Tunbridge Wells Ostrich: RSPCA warns not to approach dangerous bird
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/10573599/Tunbridge-Wells-Ostrich-RSPCA-warns-not-to-approach-dangerous-bird.html
Meep meep! Ostrich spotted dashing down country lane in TUNBRIDGE WELLS causing traffic chaos
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2539360/Meep-meep-Ostrich-spotted-dashing-country-lane-TUNBRIDGE-WELLS-causing-traffic-chaos.html