How Much Space Do Rheas Need

How Much Space Do Rheas Need

The question is: How much space do rheas need?

We suggest a method for tackling this question, starting with a pilot study where we measure the area rheas use in a small enclosure. We then suggest scaling up to various options for the open range, looking at the effect of space on rhea behavior.

The overall goal here is to make sure that at no time do we cause undue stress to the animals.

How much room do rheas need?**

For a long time I didn't know. But then I had an idea: why not go to where rheas live and measure it?**

So my friend Robert and I drove down to the Patagonian steppe. We camped in the middle of a rhea ranch, where the owner had told us we could run around with a tape measure and not worry about the rheas. In the morning we drove our jeep in circles, and whenever we saw a rhea running, Robert would jump out and chase it with his tape measure. The rheas are surprisingly fast for such big birds, but he managed to measure their territories anyway. It turns out they need about two hectares each.**

That's how you get an answer to a question like "how much room do rheas need?" You go out in the field and measure it. That seems obvious. But I only thought of it because I was desperate; I had been trying all kinds of other methods, none of them successful.*

Re: your note about how much space ostriches need.

There were two kinds of ostriches on our farm, the African and the smaller South American rhea. We used to let them run free on the farm, where they would eat weeds and insects and help mow the lawn. They could fly only a few feet off the ground, but they could run 40 mph. They would run away from us whenever we approached, so it was difficult to get near them.