Tanzania: Ngorongoro Crater – Maasai Ostriches
As we descended into the Ngorongoro Crater, the first large animal we saw at the bottom was a group of Maasai Ostriches, aka East African Ostriches, one of the four subspecies of African ostrich, and the world’s largest bird. The distinctive characteristics of this massive bird is the red neck that males develop during mating time. Adult males reach 2-2.7m in height and up to 150kg in weight, while the females are slightly smaller. They can’t fly, but their massive muscle-bulging legs can generate running speeds of up to 70kmh, moreover they can kick hard and lions don’t even dare approaching ostriches. Females are monochromatic gray, while males develop black plumage and bright red necks when sexually mature and ready to mate. And one more interesting fact – Maasai ostrich males have 20cm penises that are retractable.
