The ostrich is known as the world’s largest bird, but it can’t fly. Instead, it can run very fast and reach speeds up to 70 kilometers per hour, making it one of the fastest animals roaming the African savanna. Though the bird is flightless, its wings can still help it balance itself at high speed. Otherwise, it could only have run fast in a straight line. The ostrich has strong and long legs, their legs are longest among all flightless birds, which means they have a longer stride up to more than five meters. Their quick speed can help ostriches to run away from their predators including lions, hyenas and leopards. The ostrich’s amazing combination of speed and endurance makes it a hard catch for large animals. There is a popular belief that ostriches bury their heads in sand when facing danger. But it’s actually not true. When the bird gets defensive, they lie low and press their necks to the ground so they can blend well with the background. The territorial male ostrich not only mates with the dominant hen, but also with other females. What’s interesting is that all the eggs, no matter if they are from the dominant hen or from other females, are all put in one nest. The dominant hen puts her eggs in the center of the nest and take turns with the territorial male to incubate the eggs. Ostriches are omnivores. They mainly eat plants, but sometimes they also eat insects, rodents and snakes. Like other birds, they need to swallow the small stones to help grind up the food in the gizzard, a part of the stomach that grinds food. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), most ostrich subspecies are not endangered. But the population of the Somali ostrich, also known as the blue-necked ostrich, is on a rapid decline and the animal is listed as vulnerable by IUCN Red List.