{"id":8020,"date":"2023-05-03T11:53:19","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T09:53:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/?post_type=animal&#038;p=8020"},"modified":"2026-08-07T14:16:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T12:16:36","slug":"darwins-rhea","status":"publish","type":"animal","link":"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/en\/animals\/darwins-rhea\/","title":{"rendered":"Darwin&#8217;s Rhea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Taxonomy<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Phylum: Chordata \u2013 chordates<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Class: Aves \u2013 birds<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clade: Palaeognathae \u2013 ratites<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Order: Struthioniformes \u2013 ostriches and relatives<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Family: Rheidae \u2013 rheas<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Species:\u00a0<em>Rhea pennata<\/em>\u00a0\u2013 Darwin&#8217;s Rhea<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conservation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n    <div class=\"zoo-animal-details\">\n        <div class=\"born-container is-default\">\n            <div class=\"inner\">\n\n                \n                    <div class=\"item\">\n                        <div class=\"icon\">\n                            <img srcset=\"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/iucn-lc-e1695033593303.png 2x\" alt=\"\">\n                        <\/div>\n                        <div class=\"text\">\n                            IUCN &#8211; LC (Least Concern)                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\n                    \n                    <div class=\"item\">\n                        <div class=\"icon\">\n                            <img srcset=\"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/logo-cites-1.png 2x\" alt=\"\">\n                        <\/div>\n                        <div class=\"text\">\n                            CITES II                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\n                    \n                    <div class=\"item\">\n                        <div class=\"icon\">\n                            <img srcset=\"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/logo-eep-1.png 2x\" alt=\"\">\n                        <\/div>\n                        <div class=\"text\">\n                            EAZA ex-situ programme                        <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n\n                    \n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n    \n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Distribution and habitat<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lesser rhea inhabits South American open shrubland and steppe of Patagonia and on the Andean plateau.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" src=\"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba_darvina-nandu-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-17377\" style=\"width:600px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba_darvina-nandu-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba_darvina-nandu-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba_darvina-nandu-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba_darvina-nandu-350x175.jpg 350w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba_darvina-nandu-600x300.jpg 600w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba_darvina-nandu-580x290.jpg 580w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba_darvina-nandu-1160x580.jpg 1160w, https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/izplatiba_darvina-nandu.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Adaptions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lesser rhea on average is 120 cm tall and a weight about 30 kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rhea has powerful legs and can reach a running speed of 60 km\/h. During the run it stretches its neck horizontally and keeps its wings close to its body. Like ostriches and emus, the knee joint is forward oriented \u2013 that is opposite to humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rhea&#8217;s subtle colours are used to hide from predators. Unlike most birds the males and females are very difficult to tell apart. Adults are brownish grey to chestnut, but chicks have yellowish-white colour and acquire the mottling of the adults at the age of one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rheas&#8217; thick and soft feathers protect them from elements. Rhea is a flightless bird, but it uses its wings to court females and incubate eggs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rhea is a social species, that out of breeding season forms groups of around 30 birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Diet<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lesser rhea is herbivorous, feeding mainly on salt bushes and cactus fruits, as well as grasses, roots, seeds and leaves. But, if given the chance, rhea will occasionally eat small animals like lizards, beetles, grasshoppers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Breeding<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During breeding season, the male makes a simple nest on the ground and multiple females lay their eggs near it. The male is responsible for collecting and incubating them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A single nest can have around 18-20 eggs and incubation lasts 40 days. During this time males are very aggressive, even defending the nest against females.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Soon after hatching chicks are ready to follow the male that takes care of them for for 6-9 months until they become independent. Occasionally rhea males will also adopt abandoned chicks and take care of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The young rheas are ready to mate at the age of 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conservation and threats<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The main threats to rheas are hunting and egg collection for food and traditional medicine. Additionally, their habitats are suffering from fragmentation and conversion to farmlands.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2210,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","inline_featured_image":false},"animal-category":[34,36],"animal-filter-1":[],"animal-filter-2":[],"class_list":["post-8020","animal","type-animal","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Darwin&#039;s Rhea - Zoo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/en\/animals\/darwins-rhea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Darwin&#039;s Rhea - Zoo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Taxonomy Conservation Distribution and habitat Lesser rhea inhabits South American open shrubland and steppe of Patagonia and on the Andean plateau. Adaptions Lesser rhea on average is 120 cm tall and a weight about 30 kg. Rhea has powerful legs and can reach a running speed of 60 km\/h. During the run it stretches its [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/en\/animals\/darwins-rhea\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zoo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-07T12:16:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/darvina-nandu.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/animals\\\/darwins-rhea\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/animals\\\/darwins-rhea\\\/\",\"name\":\"Darwin's Rhea - Zoo\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/animals\\\/darwins-rhea\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/animals\\\/darwins-rhea\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/darvina-nandu.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-03T09:53:19+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-08-07T12:16:36+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/animals\\\/darwins-rhea\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/animals\\\/darwins-rhea\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/animals\\\/darwins-rhea\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/darvina-nandu.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/darvina-nandu.jpeg\",\"width\":1440,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"Male Darwin's Rhea at Riga Zoo. \u2013 Photo: El\u012bna Gulbe\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/animals\\\/darwins-rhea\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"S\u0101kums\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Animals\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/animals\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Darwin&#8217;s Rhea\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Zoo\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/rigazoo.lv\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Darwin's Rhea - Zoo","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/rigazoo.lv\/en\/animals\/darwins-rhea\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Darwin's Rhea - Zoo","og_description":"Taxonomy Conservation Distribution and habitat Lesser rhea inhabits South American open shrubland and steppe of Patagonia and on the Andean plateau. 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