Birds of a feather RACE together! Ostriches run for glory in side-splitting competition

By SNEJANA FARBEROV

Amazing race: Ostriches mounted by jockeys raced at New Orleans' Fair Grounds as part of an annual equestrian event

They may not be able to fly, but ostriches have proven once and for all that their powerful legs are not just for show during a hilarious race held in New Orleans on Saturday.
The feathered racers and their jockeys took center stage at the New Orleans Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots Track during the fifth annual Quarter Horse Race.
Among the winged competitors were 'Feather Duster,’ 'I'll Hatch Another,' 'Nom De Plumage,' and 'She's Got Legs,' but it was 'Don't Call Me Emu' ridden by jockey Jeff Jerman that raced to victory on Saturday, according to the Pacific Coast News.

Born to run: While they may look clumsy, ostriches are natural runners capable of sprinting in short bursts up to 43 miles per hour

Let the games begin! The unusual contest was held as part of a 12-day equestrian event for quarter horses

The unusual contest that sent hearts aflutter on the Fair Ground stands was held as part of a 12-day equestrian event for quarter horses – a unique breed of animals noted for their smaller stature that specialize in sprinting short distances, the NOLA Defender reported.
All of the jockeys who had ridden horses throughout the afternoon on Saturday opted for an emu-sing end of the day show and proved they could ride anything by mounting ostriches.
Organizers of the annual quarter horse race, which opened on August 15, brought o

What's in a name? Among the winged competitors were 'Feather Duster,' 'I'll Hatch Another,' 'Nom De Plumage,' and 'She's Got Legs'

Although the ostrich is the largest and heaviest living bird, do not be fooled by its less than statuesque figure: the critter was born to run.
According to information from the San Diego Zoo, the ostrich’s long, thick, and powerful legs can cover great distances without much effort, and its feet have only two toes for greater speed.
Ostriches can sprint in short bursts up to 43 miles per hour, and they can maintain a steady speed of 31 miles per hour.

Winner's circle: 'Don't Call Me Emu' with jockey Jeff Jerman are celebrating their victory in the race

source: dailymail

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How ostriches use their 'springy' legs to help them run faster and longer

Ostriches are able to hit high speeds and sustain them for long periods because of their energy stored in their tendons


Ostriches are able to run so fast over long distances because they use half as much energy as humans do to run at their top speed.

Scientists who compared ostriches and humans running discovered that the huge birds can store twice as much energy in their leg tendons as we can.

This reduces the effort needed to run at high speeds and explains why ostriches are able to run at up to 45mph for long periods of time.

Leader of the study, Professor Jonas Rubenson of the School of Sports Science, Exercise and Health at the University of Western Australia, said the aim of the research was to find out what mechanical adaptations were made by species able to run fast and efficiently.

He said that while lions and cheetahs can outrun the ostrich on short sprints, they use a great deal of energy, and other species such as ostriches, antelopes and horses, can run fast over long distances.

To find out how an ostrich runs the researches fitted reflective markers to the joints of five humans and five tame ostriches. They then carried out a detailed analysis of their gait and movements as they ran on a custom-built running track 50 metres long.

They also measured the forces applied to the ground during running.



Human legs (b and d) and ostrich legs (a and c) during running seen from side-on (top) and front-on (bottom)


The results demonstrated that both humans and ostriches need almost exactly the same amount of mechanical work to swing their limbs during running. But they found that the major difference was in the storage and release of energy by the tendons.



Ostriches were fitted with motion sensors


They calculated that the release of this elastic energy generated 83 per cent more power in the ostrich than in the human, which meant the ostrich uses less metabolic energy and is less fatigued.

'The difference lies in the elasticity of their joints,' Professor Rubenson told the BBC.

'Ostriches generate over twice as much power from recoil of elastic energy stored in tendons than humans, which means they need less muscle power to run at the same speed.

'Moving with elastic limbs is akin to bouncing on a pogo stick, where you don't have to work very hard to bounce along - so it's all in the spring of their step.'

The findings of the research, described in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, may enable engineers to design better prosthetic limbs by focusing on elastic propulsion.

They could also help robot researchers to design more agile robots. The results could also provide some insight into the evolution of bipedalism.


source: dailymail

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