By Fran Gillespie 

“I’M lucky to be alive,” said British resident Simon Flynn after surviving repeated attacks by an ostrich at a reserve on the west coast of Qatar.
During the Eid holiday, Flynn decided to go for a stroll on the Abrouq peninsula. He was aware that there are both reem gazelle and ostriches in the area, released about two years ago by the Supreme Council for the Environment and Natural Reserves (SCENR).
Flynn had seen the signboard welcoming the public to the reserve and warning them to keep away from the wildlife. He had no intention of going anywhere near the ostriches. But what he didn’t know was that these birds can be extremely aggressive and dangerous during the breeding season, which is beginning around now. The signs make no mention of this.
Having parked his vehicle, Flynn was walking south towards the ‘traditional Arab town’ film set which is a major visitor attraction at the Ras Abrouq oasis. He became aware of a full-grown ostrich approaching him from some distance away. He turned and started to walk back to his car but the bird made a detour around him until it could approach him from the front again.
“It zig-zagged slowly towards me,” said Flynn, “and then it suddenly came at me.” He fell to the ground and during several attempts to get up and run he was repeatedly kicked in the chest and pecked. Fortunately the guard at the film set heard his shouts for help and ran with a stick to drive the bird off.
Flynn ended up with multiple cuts, contusions and bruises. The kicks to his chest resulted in such massive bruising that he was X-rayed at Hamad Hospital for suspected broken ribs. He was also given an injection against tetanus.
‘Welcome to reserve’ says sign but ‘Keep away’ says SCENR official.
After earlier reports of aggression by ostriches to visitors to the Abrouq area, Gulf Times contacted Ghanem Abdullah, the Director of Reserves at the SCENR, in February 2006 to ask whether something could be done to prevent further confrontations and avoid either accidents to people or stress to the birds. At that time Abdullah stated that people should keep away from the reserve, despite the signs apparently welcoming them to it, and that if anyone was injured they had only themselves to blame. 
He also said that notices warning the public had been placed in the Arabic press but not in the English newspapers because he believed that Western expatriates never visited the area.
Ras Abrouq is a popular venue for weekend and holiday walkers, campers, kite surfers and swimmers, both Qatari and expatriate. It has spectacular scenery, long sandy beaches and sea views. Even before the colourful film sets were built in 2001 the green oasis with its deep well attracted bird-watchers who came to look at the large variety of migratory species sheltering there, and botanists interested in the range of plants. The area also has some of the most important archaeological sites in Qatar.
The biggest of the four sub-species of ostrich, those at Ras Abrouq are the world’s largest bird, standing 2.7 metres (nine feet) tall. A native of the open savannah region of Africa, their kick is as powerful as that of a horse and they can rip open a human body with a kick from their sharp-clawed feet, causing death from loss of blood, or crush ribs with a direct blow to the chest. Unlike a horse they kick forwards and because of the relative heights of birds and humans the blows often land on the chest or abdomen.
Every year world-wide a number of deaths occur, the majority, oddly enough, not in Africa but in Australia where commercial ostrich-farming has long been established. 
In Africa, ostriches have even been known to kill large predators such as lions with their powerful kicks. They can sprint at 70kph and run over long distances at 50kph. So trying to run away when an ostrich threatens attack is not an option. The safest procedure is to sit down on the ground, crouching low and covering the head with the arms, until the bird moves away or help arrives.
A slightly smaller species of ostrich, Struthia camelus syriacus, once roamed the deserts of Qatar, and pieces of ostrich shell turn up on archaeological sites. Apart from the contents being a welcome source of protein, the eggshells made useful water containers. This species is now extinct, the last bird being killed in the Hasa province of eastern Arabia in 1945.
In common with all ostriches, the birds at Ras Abrouq live in a small herd dominated by an alpha male, and eggs are laid by several hens in the dominant hen’s nest which is scraped into the ground by the male. Although the nest may contain eggs from a number of birds the chicks are always raised by the dominant pair. Only about 10% of the eggs laid actually hatch.
Gulf Times contacted Richard Switzer, the bird curator at the Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation near Shahaniya, where a number of ostriches are kept in large enclosures. 
Switzer confirmed that both male and female ostriches can be extremely aggressive and territorial during the breeding season and that kicks can be fatal.
“In captivity, staff use extreme caution when collecting eggs - it is often necessary to enter the enclosure with two vehicles,” he said.
“When one person is collecting the other is keeping a sharp eye on the ostriches. They have very small brains in comparison with their huge size, and their behaviour is quite unpredictable.”
The SCENR has been notified of the recent attack. Khalid Saleh Thabet, the Media Centre Director at the SCENR, told Gulf Times that at a meeting held on Monday a decision was taken to upgrade and increase the signs at the Abrouq reserve, warning the public of the danger. This work would be carried out within the next two weeks, and all sections of the media would be informed. At future meetings the possibility of fencing off an enclosure for the ostriches would be under consideration, he said.