Martin Fruendt, age 10s of Allentown, Penna., for his question:
How does an ostrich breathe with his head in the sand?
We have all heard that the ostrich hides his head in the sand when threatened. People know this story, remember it and retell it over and over again: Yet those same people could not tell you the size of a grown ostrich, what he eats or maybe not even where he lives, These facts, Andy thinks, are just as interesting as the tale about the ostrich hiding his head in the sand. What's more, they are true. The one about the sand is not true.
Martin spotted the fact which proves this story to be nonsense. An ostrich with his head in the sand could not possibly breathe. What's more, he lives i n lion country. Suppose the big bird decided to hide from a lion by putting his head in the sand. The lion would be delighted. For there would be an ostrich dinner, all staked out and waiting to be eaten. If ostriches had been doing this silly trick for very long, there would be none of them left.
Being a bird, the ostrich is not too smart. But he is nobody's fool either, and when it comes to lions, he is always on his toes. A grown ostrich may stand eight feet tall and tip the scales at 300 pounds. In a scrap, he defends himself by kicking his powerful legs. He can wallop hard enough to kill a man or knock down a horse. Certainly this fellow does not have to hide his head in the sand for fear of his enemies.
Mr, Ostrich, his several wives and many chicks spend their days on the sunny deserts of Africa. They feed upon the coarse desert plants and swallow a few pebbles once in a while to help digest their food. It is quite true that an ostrich will eat nails and bits of metal.
From time to time, Papa Ostrich lifts his head and looks around. If he spots a lion in the distance, it is time to move, The whole ostrich family then takes off in the opposite direction. At full speed, a grown ostrich can cover the ground at 50 miles an hour, which is faster than a fast horse. The big fellow can outdistance the lion and also outkick him, so he has no need to hide.
Once in a while, however, the ostrich does not choose to run. Then he stands quite still with his great plumed wings slightly outspread., From a short distance he is easily mistaken for a desert bush.
Though he does not bury his head in the sand, the ostrich does make one mistake which often ends in his capture. Some people say that he always runs away in a circle. If hunters on horseback cut across the circle they can catch up with him. The fact is that the ostrich does not intend to run away from home. He runs around in a curve, hoping to return to his home ground when the trouble is over. This is sometimes a silly trick, but not so silly as hiding his head in the sand.