North African ostrich
| North African ostrich | |
|---|---|
 | |
| North African ostrich at the Paignton Zoo, United Kingdom. | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Superorder: | Paleognathae |
| Order: | Struthioniformes |
| Family: | Struthionidae |
| Genus: | Struthio |
| Species: | S. camelus |
| Subspecies: | S. c. camelus |
| Trinomial name | |
| Struthio camelus camelus (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
The North African ostrich or Red-necked ostrich (Struthio camelus camelus) is the largest subspecies of the common ostrich from West and North Africa.
Physical description
The North African ostrich is the largest subspecies, at 2.74 m (9.0 ft) in height and up to 154 kilograms (340 lb) in weight. The neck is pinkish-red, the plumage of males is black and white, and the plumage of females is grey.
Habitat and distribution
The North African ostrich was once widespread in western and northern Africa. It used to range from Ethiopia and Sudan in the east throughout the Sahel to Senegal and Mauritania in the west, and north to Egypt and southern Morocco. The ostriches may have also roamed in the Sinai Peninsula, where Arabian ostriches once lived. It has now disappeared from large parts of this range and it only remains in 6 of the 18 countries where it originally occurred, leading some to consider it Critically Endangered. North African ostriches can be found in open lands and the savannas, especially in the Sahel of Africa.
In captivity
The North African ostrich is found mostly captive breeding in European and Middle Eastern zoos, such as Hanover, Zoological Garden of Hamburg and Paignton Zoo.
Reintroduction projects
The North African ostrich is the closest relative to the Arabian ostrich from Western Asia. Following analyses of mtDNA control region haplotypes that confirmed the close relationship of the Arabian and the North African subspecies,[1] a reintroduction project using the North African ostrich was set up at Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area in Saudi Arabia.[2] It also has been reintroduced in the Yotvata Hai-Bar Nature Reserve from Israel as well.