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"Adult ostrich leg for scale."
I know I can’t be the only one that thought “so is the mother behind that tree.. oh.. wait, that’s not a tree”
Came across a brood of these chicks in a nearby National Park. They stay in parental care for up to 9 months, and only 12% of chicks per nest grow to adult due to their susceptibility to disease and poor weather.
They have a high mortality rate pre-hatch as well in the wild. A parent accidentally stepping on an egg is very very common and the larger the clutch the more common it happens.
Interesting! I wouldn’t have guessed that, but it makes sense. They have huge feet and walk around their eggs often