Ostrich strides can be as long as 16 feet (about 4.88 m). That's more than six times longer than the average human stride — and longer than two tall people laying end-to-end. When running full-out, ostriches can reach a speed of about 40 mph (about 64 km/hour), which makes it the fastest of any animal with two legs.
More facts about ostriches and strides:
- Generally speaking, an animal's stride when walking is a little bit longer than the distance from its shoulders to its hips.
- Perhaps unsurprisingly, ostriches also have the longest legs of any bird. The average ostrich is 7 to 9 feet tall (2.13 to 2.74 m), much of which is its legs.
- Horses' average strides are 12 feet (3.66 m), which is 4 feet (1.22 m) shorter than those of ostriches.
