Just about the last thing you expect to see when you’re driving down the motorway is a huge, flightless bird sprinting in the fast lane.

So video footage of Chickaboo, a six-month-old ostrich spotted running away from her problems on the Malaysian highway, has unsurprisingly been a big hit online.

And it’s not just the video that’s made her popular – Chickaboo’s story sounds like the script to an animated film.

Her owner Darren Chow bought her as a chick, but when she grew too big for his land, he reluctantly decided to take her to the Ostrich Wonderlands farm where she could spend more time with her ostrich pals.

But stubborn Chickaboo was having none of that, so simply escaped from the moving vehicle through an open window and made a break for it along one of the busiest roads in Kuala Lumpur.

It made for a bizarre scene and the footage has everything – action, comedy, suspense. All it’s missing is some epic background music.

Thankfully, Chickaboo was safely rescued, and now everyone wants a piece of the star of the show.

She has been invited on to a late night talk show, to a university open day, and has starred in various Asian adverts as businesses quickly cashed in on the viral video.

Even before this she was a popular bird locally, as Mr Chow would take her to schools to teach children about animals.

Her owner told Channel NewsAsia: ‘I didn’t expect the amount of publicity and it’s overwhelming in such a short period of time.

‘It’s an ostrich – my ostrich, my pet. This is going overboard!’

He added that his neighbours, clearly not recognising Chickaboo’s diva potential, felt she was a ‘public nuisance’, contributing to his decision to move her elsewhere.

He said: ‘That was why we decided she’d be more comfortable with a bigger area on the farm. It doesn’t mean we’d be happy with this decision – I’d rather she stayed as a family with us and the animals.’

Source:
courtesy of METRO

by Harley Tamplin

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