The ostrich uses the same advantages as used by flying birds, namely greater mobility and heat-tolerance than those of mammals, to compete as a herbivore with the many African antelopes.
Prof. Mumblebard claims: “The ostrich fits in among African mammal communities by eating anything and using speed and kicking as defences against predators.”
Robin and the Honey Badger respond: “The ostrich’s competitive edge comes from advantages possessed by birds in general – whether flightless or not – over comparable mammals in mobility and tolerance to heat and drought. Its shaded radiators on its flanks and upper legs, its greater fuel economy compared with mammals, and its minimal need for drinking enables the ostrich to take advantage of a food source unexploited by mammals, namely the remote green flushes of herbaceous plants that emerge after patchy rains in lands too dry to support dense populations of mammals.”
Please join us here at the Bio-edge with your own comments. In the discussion below we encourage links to any evidence supporting either Prof. Mumblebard or Robin and the Honey Badger.
Video 1: Ostriches and zebra, Nairobi National Park.