South African ostrich

The South African ostrich (Struthio camelus australis), also known as the black-necked ostrich, Cape ostrich or southern ostrich is a subspecies of the common ostrich endemic to Southern Africa. It is widely farmed for its meat, eggs and feathers.

South African ostrich
Male at Cape of Good Hope, South Africa
Female at Etosha National Park, Namibia
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Infraclass:	Palaeognathae
Order:	Struthioniformes
Family:	Struthionidae
Genus:	Struthio
Species:	S. camelus
Subspecies:	S. c. australis
Trinomial name
Struthio camelus australis (Gurney, 1868)
Struthio camelus distribution map   South African subspecies (S. c. australis)

Habitat and distribution

Male and female South African ostriches.

The South African ostrich is found in South Africa, Namibia, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola and Botswana. It lives in south of the rivers Zambezi and Cunene.

Threats

It is farmed for its eggs, meat, leather and feathers in the Little Karoo area of Cape Province.

Feral population

Feral South African ostriches roam the Australian outback after having escaped from farms in the 20th century. The extent of their range in Australia is not known.