A runaway ostrich was caught on video dodging traffic in South Korea on Tuesday, after escaping from its enclosure due to what its owner believes was loneliness.
The male ostrich named Tadori broke out from a zoo called Bug City in the town of Seongnam, located about an hour south of Seoul.
Witnesses recorded video of the ostrich jogging down a busy street through traffic. It appeared to run into a box truck and get knocked down at one point before continuing to trot down lanes of cars.
About an hour after the escape, the big bird was captured using a net in a parking lot about 1.6 miles from the zoo, Reuters reported.
Witnesses recorded the wild scene of the runaway ostrich dodging traffic. (@hola.__.m/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)
Tadori, who is 4 years old, was unharmed and later returned to the zoo. The zoo’s owner says Tadori has been lonely since his mate died.
A 4-year-old male ostrich named Tadori escaped from a zoo in the town of Seongnam. (@hola.__.m/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)
“His only friend, a female ostrich Tasooni, passed away about a month ago,” zoo owner Choi Yun-joo told Reuters. “Guess that has been tough on Tadori.”
Tadori was safely captured about an hour after his escape. (@hola.__.m/LOCAL NEWS X /TMX)
Tadori is believed to have escaped the zoo by squeezing through a narrow gap between fences, the Korea Herald reported.
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The incident is similar to another animal escape in Seoul that occurred almost exactly one year ago.
In that case, a young male zebra named Sero escaped the Children’s Grand Park and ran alongside traffic and down narrow alleys until it was subdued with tranquilizers.
It was reported that Sero escaped after showing signs of stress following the deaths of his parents.