Ostrich and owner reunited

Carrie Klassen shares more information on the ostrich sighting near Pansy. She says she and her family were on their way home from a church service at Pansy Chapel when they saw a man standing in a field with an ostrich. 

It was such an absurd thing to see in southeast Manitoba, so they slowed down for a photo and then asked him if he needed some help. 

The man, Walentin, explained that he was the owner of the ostrich, it had been loose for a few days, and he just hadn’t been able to catch it. 

The Klassens and some other onlookers decided to help him capture the ostrich. This was their game plan: 

“We kind of tried to form a line across the field and kind of corner it towards the bush. It escaped passed a few times because those birds are fast. It ran straight at me and I wasn't a very good wall. I just kind of let it pass.” 

She says that although there were some failed attempts, they never gave up. They eventually were able to get it cornered toward the bush as planned, and now it was time for her husband and the ostrich owner to handle the rest. 

"The rest of us kind of stopped and let them handle it, and I guess there was a fence in the bush, so the ostrich had to slow down a little bit. There was a man versus wild struggle as the two men tried to get a hold of the ostrich. But I'm happy to say they were able to quickly put a cover on its head and after that things got a lot more civilized.” 

And so, the men emerged from the bush victorious. Other than a few cuts and scrapes, there were no injuries, and they were finally able to walk the bird home safely. 

Klassen remembers the feeling of needing help from God in those moments of chaos.  

“Thankfully, in church we'd been praying about miracles because that's absolutely what was needed at that point.” 

She laughs as she remembers the crazy ordeal, saying her kids are never going to forget the day that they stopped on the way home from church to help wrangle an ostrich.