In India, usually, when walking down the streets, you might see a dog or a pigeon nearby—but an ostrich? That sounds almost dreamy. Yet in Kochi, Kerala, locals were stunned to spot an ostrich running through the streets, and footage of the unusual sight quickly went viral.
The video shows the ostrich with very few feathers, either naturally shed or trimmed for unknown reasons, taking a stroll on the Kochi streets. Its shaved appearance left netizens to worry that the bird might be helpless and traumatised.
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“Paavam, he’s lost all his feathers,” many viewers commented.
One user wrote, “Man, that poor thing is emaciated. The background music just makes this all the more inhuman and sadistic.” Another echoed the concern: “Pavam, it must be traumatised.”

Amid the concern, a few lighthearted comments also appeared, such as: “We’ve seen ‘Otttakapakshi’ in Aluva before GTA6.”
The clip was posted by the Instagram page 'Feels of Kochi', crediting 'Travel autobiography' for filming the reel.
In the video, a man is seen waving his hands to guide the ostrich, and the bird calmly follows him like it he was a traffic cop. Some people run after it, shocked to see an ostrich in their street. A biker even stopped to let the bird pass safely.
Ostrich facts
Ostriches are the world’s largest birds, typically standing between 7 to 9 feet tall (about 2.1 to 2.7 metres). They are native to Africa, where they roam the savannas and open plains. Ostriches are well adapted to hot, dry climates but are not naturally found in India.