A Rhino And An Oxpecker Caught By A Lurking Photographer Make For The Unlikeliest Of Friends

A gentle giant and a tiny bird become friends in the cutest manner.

Aleksandar

• Published in Animal Stories
• October 4, 2021

Driving around the South African bush, a photographer named Zaheer Ali noticed a rhino eating some grass but it took him a little longer to notice who was with him. A tiny oxpecker was chilling on the rhino's head, and Zaheer Ali saw the little bird as he was looking at the photos he took afterward.

The birds can usually be found on black rhino's heads and backs as they feed on insects that are located on the thick rhino skin, which ultimately helps out the rhino. They get rid of the parasites on the large animal, and the giant repays the bird by giving it a place to live with free food.

The name for the oxpecker with a red bill in Swahili is 'Askari wa kifaru', which means 'the rhino's guard'. They're tiny in general, and even smaller compared to the rhino's size.

There are also scientific facts that mention how the red-billed oxpeckers help out rhinos by providing them another pair of eyes. Rhinos have poor eyesight in general and the oxpeckers will make a sharp hiss to help the large animals detect humans nearby.

That's how rhino's little buddy helps him avoid unwanted poachers approaching and it's great as we're looking to avoid extinction of the beautiful animals. Zaheer managed to capture the two friends chilling together.

The red-billed oxpecker looks as if it's coming to snuggle with the rhino and both of them look happy and relaxed with one another.

You can see how one of the birds is looking to clean the rhino's ear

Aleksandar