Reward offered after ostrich killed

A family is grieving the loss of a pet ostrich that was found shot to death in west Colusa.

“Gertrude,” a 40-year-old ostrich, was found Tuesday by her owner, David Scroggins. He said he last saw the large bird alive around 8:30 p.m. Monday. The following morning, Scroggins saw it slumped in the pasture where it lived.

“It was almost like she was sitting,” Scroggins said. “But her head was all the way down. People say ostriches will bury their heads in the sand, but that’s really not true. They don’t like to put their heads down.”

Scroggins has offered a $500 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person responsible for killing her.

Information can be reported to Detective Tony Garafalo at the Colusa County Sheriff’s Office, 458-0200.

“This could be about me,” Scroggins said. “But I don’t know who’s responsible. This is such a horrendous, unnecessary act.”

Scroggins said the bullet that killed Gertrude tore through her leg, shattering bone and cutting the main artery.

“She eventually bled to death,” Scroggins said.

Scroggins owned Gertrude for 2 ½ years after taking her from a friend. She was popular with Scroggins’ five young grandchildren, including a 5-year-old who called Gertrude “the rooster.”

“She was fun to be around,” Scroggins said. “Our grandchildren loved her and will miss her.”

A species of bird native to Africa, ostriches typically live from 50 to 70 years. By that measure, Gertrude could have lived up to 30 more years. Instead, Scroggins buried Gertrude on his property where the bird lived.

Contact Susan Meeker at 458-2121 or  smeeker@tcnpress.com.