Nandus (Rhea americana)

 With a hight from head to toe of about 1,25 to 1,40 metres (the hight from the back to the ground approximately 1 metre) and a weight between 20 to 25 kg the Nandu is the biggest bird of the New World.The Male is slightly bigger than the female.They have a have a fluffy, tattered looking plumage.Plumage color may vary from grey to brown, usually males are slightly darker than females. But still this is not a reliable way to distinguish the sexes.Fleeing they can reach a speed of up to 60 km/h. They are as well good swimmer.Their habitat reaches from the central Grassland of Argentina and Uruguay to the north of Brazil.Farmers sometimes consider them pests, because they will eat broad-leaved crop plants. Because of this habit, farmers sometimes kill the birds. This, along with egg gathering and habitat loss has led to a sharp population decline; the species is listed as being of "special concern." The habitual burning of crops in South America has also contributed to their decline. 

The IUCN Red List Status: Near Threatened

http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/19465/summ 

In contrary to that the numbers feral Nandus in Germany !! are increasing.

Yes you understand it correct, there are feral Nandus in Germany. In autumn of the year 2000 three breeding pairs escaped from a breeding enclosure in Gross Groenau .Against all the predictions, that they are not going to survive the German winter, they did however breed. Meanwhile there is a colony of 80 (there are projections of 200 birds ) feral Nandu in the area of  Mecklenburg-Vorpommern between  Schattin, Utecht and Rieps (in the South-East of the City of Luebeck). There is a hunting ban for Nandus but their numbers should be kept under control by controlling the size of the clutch of eggs.There is a fear that indigenous animals and plants may suffer from the existence of the Nandus.But so far no damages caused by the Nandus are reported. 

(Source: www.wikipedia.org) 

The photo was taken by Andreas Fritz, indeed in Germany, who kindly permitted the publication here on this site. 

It was taken here (thanx as well to Andreas Fritz for creating this map)

Have a look here for more of his lovely photos of the Nandus in Germany.

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