Note: We publish Seth’s posts on a one-week delay, so references to Thanksgiving reflect the timing of his original release.
Hey 
Wild Fact Fans, Seth here with the new Friday Feature creature. Don’t forget to please like 
, share and comment 
questions 
down below 
If you have any on this weeks animal ^^ or any creature you’d like me to do a post on in the future
First off, i hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving 
with your friends and families yesterday & hope you all a good holiday season to come ^^
For this weeks feature creature, keeping with the Thanksgiving theme a bit ; this animal if settlers had landed on the grassy plains of South America instead of Plymouth Rock 
; i bet they might’ve wanted to have this magnificent bird for their feast instead (if they actually did have turkey at their 1st Thanksgiving 
); that is if they could catch them. With strong 
powerful legs 
that not only make these birds the fastest creatures in the New World on 2 legs , plus being pretty smart, these birds are tough survivors; descending from prehistoric avian nomads that thrived on the continent long ago. Resourceful, adaptable, and very devoted parental guardians in the Male’s case; these birds are amazing resident of the Pampas ecosystem. And thanks to some humans by accident, are now beginning to spread a lil in Germany 
!
This weeks Feature Creature is the Greater Rhea
1. Standing at 6ft tall, a wingspan of 5ft and weighing in at 33 to 60 lbs, the Greater Rhea is the Largest bird 
in all of the New World 
!
2. Also known as the Nandu, Rheas are very similar to Ostriches. Outside size & location as a main difference; rheas also have 3 toes instead of 2, smaller tail feathers, more feathers 
on their necks and both genders have the same feather colors; except a black patch on a mature males neck’s.
3. Rheas are named after the Greek Titan, Rhea, whose name comes from the Ancient Greek word for “ground.” This name likely refers to their flightlessness
4. Like ostriches; theyre adaptable & very social birds that live in flocks of 10 to 100 rheas & can live in many habitats such as grasslands 
, scrublands, wetlands 
and deserts 
. Rheas can also live in cold 
areas near mountains 
; thanks to their thick feathers
5. Like Ostriches, rheas are omnivores that eat a large variety of food such as grass seeds, leaves 
, fruit 
, roots, insects 
(including stinging ones like bees 
and wasps), and occasionally scorpions 
, lizards 
, frogs 
, small birds , snakes 
, & small mammals 
. They also sometimes eat dead 
fish 
, flies hovering over carrion 
, and even feces of other rheas 
6. They offen take “dust baths” by tossing dirt on their wings 
& using their bills to help clean themselves. They also dont mind water and a good swimmers 
7. The greater rhea is the fastest land bird in the americas as well; reaching speeds of 40 mph! (Faster than a Roadrunner with ease & almost as fast as ostriches!) rheas also run in a zigzag, using their wings as rudders to allow quick turns to help escape predators such as Jaguars 
and pumas.
8. The greater rhea is a silent bird, except for the low booming calls made by males in the mating season that starts in August 
and ends in January 
. males split away from flocks and compete with rivals for territory space by doing neck displays, ruffling their feathers and wings and running at each other.
9. After mating with 6 to 7 females; males do all the parental care of the eggs 
and chicks 
in a nest 
males make out of mud. Males can have up to 30 to 40 eggs to watch over in a single season! It’ll take 29 to 43 days for them to hatch 
10. During the wait to hatch & after hatching ; the male will guard them aggressively from any predators such as foxes 
, grisons 
, lizards , snakes , wild cats both big and small, birds of prey , Maned Wolves 
, skunks 
, and armadillos. They’ll even drive away other female rheas!
11. To protect the nest and themselves; rheas males can duck down and make themselves look like brush; just like ostriches do.
12. It’ll take 6 months for young rheas to become full grown. During that time, the male will watch over them closely & devotedly. Males will even adopt abandoned chicks 
that dont belong to them! 
13. After a farm escape in Germany back in 2000; There is a population of over 100 greater rheas established by several breeding pairs. Without any major predators and plenty of food ; they easily thrive on the German countrysides
Next weeks feature creature hint 
: this desert primate 
was revered by ancient egyptians 
as sacred animals of the sun & alongside wisdom 
