An ostrich that died from stress after making public spectacle when it escaped its cage was cooked and eaten by its caretakers.

Two ostriches made headlines after they escaped their cage in Quezon City, the Philippines last week.

A security guard and several construction workers in the area caught the birds an hour after they were spotted.

However, their owner, Jonathan Cruz, said that one of the birds had died because of stress.

The bird's owner said he instructed his caretakers to bury the dead ostrich but upon checking the next day, he found that the workers decided to cook it instead.

The ostrich was cooked into the famous Filipino dish Adobo made with soy sauce, vinegar, and spices mixture.

The bird's death was made public when the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) invited Jonathan to explain how the ostriches were able to escape their cages.

DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda said: "We are now asking for the evidence if it really died.”

Antiporda added that they are puzzled as to how the ostriches ended up living in the city when they are registered in the province.

In his defense, Jonathan said that the birds were bought from an ostrich farm in Misamis province.

Ostriches - the largest and heaviest of all living birds - are only found in the wild in Africa.