Story of runaway ostrich bears similarities to Sero the escaped zebra

Tadori the ostrich is seen running on the road in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. (Yonhap)

A runaway ostrich caught Tuesday in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, is thought to have escaped from its enclosure due to loneliness, according to the owner of the farm where the ostrich was housed.

Scenes of the male ostrich, named Tadori, running around busy roads were reminiscent of Sero the zebra, who escaped from a Seoul zoo in March 2023.

Tadori has been alone in his enclosure since his mate Tasuni died last month.

The pair had been kept at a nature experience farm in Seongnam since July 2020, when they were chicks of less than 1 year old.

Since his mate's death, Tadori appeared to be under a lot of stress, the owner of the farm said to local media.

Tadori escaped the farm by squeezing through a narrow gap between the farm's fences and was caught at 10:24 a.m. in a storage building in Sangdaewon-dong in Seongnam, about an hour after he escaped.

While Tadori reportedly sustained light bruises on his legs from escaping through the fence, he was caught unharmed and is said to be resting and recovering in his enclosure.

Almost exactly a year ago, Sero the zebra escaped from the Seoul Children’s Grand Park after exhibiting abnormal behavior from being alone in his enclosure.

Sero wandered around streets full of traffic and residential areas near the park in Seoul and was caught safely within 3 1/2 hours after he escaped by breaking through a wooden barrier.

The male zebra had displayed signs of stress such as refusing to eat and being aggressive to other animals after his parents died in 2021 and 2022.

After Sero’s escape, the park housed him with a female zebra named Coco, but she died from a disease in October.

Sero cried and wandered around his enclosure the whole day after Coco died, but soon recovered and is in good condition, according to local media.

The park reportedly plans to introduce Sero to a new female zebra.

By Lim Jae-seong(forestjs@heraldcorp.com)