Some of the barbs of the natal down feathers are continued beyond the rest of the featlier. and 

 this gives the bristly appearance to the plumage of the young chick 



Ostrich Farming in South Africa 



SUCCESSFUL RESULTS SUGGESTING THE POSSIBILITY OF SAVING 

 OTHER WILD BIRDS THROUGH DOMESTICATION 



By J. E. D UE R D EN 



Professor of Zoology, Rhodes University College, Grahanistown, South Africa' 



IN" times past the two-toed ostrich 

 (Striithio) ranged over all the 

 habitable parts of the continent of 

 Africa, and extended into Arabia, 

 Palestine, Asia Minor, and probably as 

 far as southern India. Any specific 

 distinction within the genus is ques- 

 tionable. In recent times it has become 

 ])ractically restricted to Africa, a hardy 

 "left over" from a more ancient fauna, 

 in wliich brain power counted but little. 

 Its graceful plumes have been employed 

 for decorative purposes from time im- 

 memorial, and frequent references to 

 the giant bird occur in Biblical and 

 classical writings. The plumes were 

 obtained from the hunting of the wild 

 bird, and so valuable are they that the 

 creature would have become extinct ere 

 this had not its domestication been un- 

 dertaken. As it is, ostriches in South 

 Africa have rapidly increased under 



farming conditions, until in 1913 they 

 were estimated at near 1,000,000, a 

 noteworthy instance of an animal saved 

 from extinction and increasing greatly 

 in numbers through man's agency. 



For generations the Arabs and na- 

 tives of North Africa have kept the 

 ostrich in captivity in small kraals, and 

 ruthlessly plucked its feathers. These 

 birds are captured as chicks from the 

 nest of the wild bird, restraint and 

 handling of the wild adult being im- 

 possible. Chicks are never bred in cap- 

 tivit}^ and the terra "ostrich farming" 

 can scarcely be applied to the crude 

 conditions under which the bird there 

 exists. Fifty years ago serious atten- 

 tion was first directed to the possibil- 

 ities of ostrich farming in South Africa. 

 Under suitable management the bird 

 proved itself amenable to the restraints 

 of farm life and bred f reel v. and in a 



' Dr. Duerden holds also the position of Officer-in-Charge, Ostrich Investigations, Grootfontein School 

 of Agriculture. Middelburg. South Africa. 



3C7 



