Plight of the flightless bird

Though I'm a wanderer, I go tourist-y every once in a while. Two years ago, an ostrich farm in Oman seemed sufficiently tourist-ed and so, perfectly accommodated my eccentricities at the time.

The Barka Ostrich Farm, located at one and half hours drive from the city of Muscat on the way to Nakhl (meaning palm trees), is home to camels, crocodiles, horses and, of course, a small and the only population of ostriches in Oman. There are also a few ducks and lazy cats in the farm (although someone who’s been to Muscat knows that cats are not exactly a rare sight in the city). The farm is surrounded by acres of lush green land and a massive insecticide spraying contraption to protect the crops cultivated on the farm.

Wikipedia reads that the Arabian ostrich, once native to the Arabian Peninsula and Near East, is now found only in parts of Southern Africa. Culturally, the Jewish viewed this bird more or less negatively but after the rise of Islam, the bird came to symbolize wealth and prosperity.

Ostrich meat is not only ‘halal’ to the Muslims but has become popular among many cultures because of its low cholesterol count. The Jurassic-sized ostrich eggs, feathers and leather are used in production of handicrafts/other products that are sold to visitors of this farm.

Ostriches are shy birds but there was one curious female ostrich peering at me from the other side of the wire- fenced enclosure at the farm (females are lighter in color than males). She appeared in a good mood but I’m a little intimidated by large birds after watching Hitchcock’s movie ‘The Birds’ so kept my distance

An elaborate tour and over a hundred photographs later, I left for home but this bird still lingered my thoughts. Trying to gather more information, I spent some time reading up on ostriches – I was surprised to learn that even though this gigantic bird is found mostly in game parks and farms, its conservation status is that of ‘Least Concern’.