Lithuanian family went mushroom picking and met an ostrich in the forest
A few days ago, local residents unexpectedly met an ostrich in the forest in Varėna district, Lithuania. The bird became the hero of a popular video on social networks, but its fate was ultimately tragic, reports LRT.
Ostrich in the Lithuanian forest. Screenshot from the video
Local resident Gediminas Šakys went to the forest with his family to pick chanterelles. On the way, they jokingly discussed that they might encounter a bear, which had been repeatedly seen in the area lately. However, instead of a predator, an ostrich suddenly appeared before them. The man filmed the unusual encounter, after which the video quickly became popular online.
It later turned out that local residents in the neighboring village of Naškonys breed ostriches. Gediminas tried to help the owners: he reported the location where he saw the bird through a local social media community and passed the information to a person who knows the farm owners.
However, as Lithuanian media later reported, the story had a tragic end. The ostrich owner, Algis Petrušis, said that the bird had escaped from its enclosure a few days prior by breaking through the fence.
When the ostrich was finally found, it could not be caught. According to the owner, although farm-raised ostriches get used to people, they do not become domesticated animals, so it's impossible to simply approach and lead the bird back.
As a result, the owner had to shoot the ostrich. Thus ended the story of the bird that accidentally found itself in the Lithuanian forest and briefly became an internet celebrity.