This Ostrich Was Spotted Running in the Middle of the Road in the Philippines

As if 2020 wasn’t weird enough, Filipinos now find themselves in a scene that seems straight off Jumanji.

Now viral on social media are videos of an ostrich running in the middle of the road in a gated community in Quezon City. In a video posted by Facebook user Dino Rivera, 40, on Tuesday, August 4, the giant bird is seen vibing on the street, running left to right, as a dog barks and chases it from behind. The video gained over 15,000 reactions in six hours and had over 800,000 views as of press time.

Rivera, a resident of the gated village, told VICE that there were actually two ostriches on the loose at around 10 AM this morning.

“[I was] shocked and in awe,” Rivera said. “Who would have thought to see two ostriches when you're just going to the store to buy some items?”

He finds it funny that his video has gotten so much attention.

Gorgeous Umipig, 33, also posted a video of the same ostrich running towards the village gate. In it, she jokes, “You can’t [leave], you don’t have a gate pass.”

“I was scared at first because I knew ostriches peck people’s heads,” Umipig told VICE. But she said she’s happy her video provided some light amid the issues Filipinos are facing at the moment.

“I'm just glad that I was able to help, in a way, for Filipinos to feel happiness, even for just a moment. Especially because it's the first day of MECQ (Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine).”

Umipig said that the two ostriches are actually pets of one of the village’s residents, who escaped the yard they were usually in. She said one of the birds was caught right away but it took a while for people to catch up to the one seen on the videos.

Umipig’s video now has over 5,000 reactions, 25,000 shares, and over 800,000 views.

The videos of the ostrich are now all over Philippine social media. On Twitter, Filipinos can’t help but point out the incident’s similarities to the movie Jumanji: The Next Level.

Someone even made a new Twitter account for the ostrich that went wild.

“We all knew that there were ostriches in the area, we just didn’t expect them to act that way when they escape,” Umipig said.

As more people wish for better coronavirus management and an end to quarantine, this ostrich on the loose is definitely a vibe.

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