Misconception #3: Ostriches Bury their Head in Sand when ScaredsteemCreated with Sketch.

in #steemstem7 years ago

Howdie Steemians,

So our 3rd article in the series of misconceptions is a myth as old as the Roman Empire.

The myth is actually attributed to "Pliny the Elder", also known as "Gaius Plinius Secundus", who is a Roman author, philosopher, and army commander through the era 23-79 AD, and who wrote:

Imagine, when they have thrust their head and neck into a bush, that the whole of their body is concealed.

Apparently that statement went "viral" across the time and ages, and became a known "MYTH".

So. "Ostriches Bury their Head in Sand when Scared". WRONG.

Why would Pliny the Elder, and people afterwards come to think that?

Actually there is a good explanation to this misconception.

Ostriches have tiny heads. And very often, ostriches pick up sand and pebbles, which they swallow to aid them grinding food in their stomach.
Ostriches also dig shallow holes to place their eggs within, and they actually drop their heads down to these holes to turn the eggs few times within the day.

If spotted from a distance, those behaviors would definitely cause someone to consider they are actually burying their heads in the sand.

But, truth of the matter is that they are simply not doing that, for several reasons:

  • First, burying their heads into sand holes out of fear, would actually cause them to suffocate.
  • Second, if you were to escape a threat, you would probably run for your life, right? so would ostriches. They are in fact quite the good runners; they can reach speeds of up to 70 kms (43 miles) per hour. If you can run this fast, would you stick my head in the sand? Don't think so.
  • Finally , if cornered, or unable to run due to injury, ostriches tend to lay down their heavy bodies flat on the ground. Might be another source of this illusion? See image below - does somehow make you think it has its head buried in the sand. It simply isn't.

Hope you enjoyed our journey debunking yet another misconception!

If you liked this post, you might want to check out my earlier posts from the Misconceptions series:

Thank you for stopping by!

References:

Photo Credits:

Sort:  

I knew this one was a fable. I actually rode an ostrich when I visited an Ostrich farm in South Africa. They feel like a very bony skinny horse. It was an hilarious moment or two. It was all part of their tourist tour and I was on a press trip.

Oh wow i did see a lot of ostriches myself when visiting south africa, but didnt ride one. I definitely can sense how difficult and funny this was for you, as I've seen many failed attempts before for riding ostriches LOL

Aaaaaahhh, I always wondered where this saying came from but every time I thought about it I couldn't google it...and then I forgot. Thanks for this clarification :)

Haha indeed! Glad this was useful, and as always thanks for stopping by!

what!?! I had no idea they buried their heads like that.

Haha yea! Well they give the illusion that they're burying their heads. But they actually don't

This post recieved an upvote from minnowpond. If you would like to recieve upvotes from minnowpond on all your posts, simply FOLLOW @minnowpond

I upvoted you because I like this kind of post, thank you.

Congratulations @mcfarhat, this post is the forth most rewarded post (based on pending payouts) in the last 12 hours written by a Dust account holder (accounts that hold between 0 and 0.01 Mega Vests). The total number of posts by Dust account holders during this period was 2247 and the total pending payments to posts in this category was $613.81. To see the full list of highest paid posts across all accounts categories, click here.

If you do not wish to receive these messages in future, please reply stop to this comment.

Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by mcfarhat from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews/crimsonclad, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.

@optimisticguy just up/voted your post. I like your writing style. If you want me to up/vote all your postings simply follow me @optimisticguy

Coin Marketplace

STEEM 0.35
TRX 0.12
JST 0.040
BTC 70351.33
ETH 3563.43
USDT 1.00
SBD 4.72