Do ostriches find humans attractive? That’s a question that has been on my mind ever since I saw a video of an ostrich trying to mate with a human. The answer it turns out is not as clear cut as you might think.
On the one hand there are some ostrich experts who say that yes ostriches do find humans attractive. Dr. Keith Tester author of The Sexual Life of Birds is one of those experts. He argues that ostriches are attracted to the human form because we share some similarities with the ostrich’s natural prey.
“The long neck the arms that flap in the air – these are all things that attract the ostrich” Tester told BBC News. “It’s the same as a lion being attracted to a zebra.”
However not all experts agree with Tester’s assessment. Dr. Stephen Portuguese an ostrich behavior specialist at the University of Bristol thinks that the attraction is more likely due to the fact that humans are simply novel creatures to ostriches.
“In the wild an ostrich will rarely encounter a human so when they do it’s not surprising that they’re curious” Portuguese told BBC News. “But I don’t think they’re actually attracted to us in a sexual way.”
So what do you think? Do ostriches find humans attractive? I’m not sure I have a definitive answer but I find the whole topic fascinating nonetheless.
Is it true that ostriches find humans attractive?
No it is not true that ostriches find humans attractive.
