Rhinos pay a painful price for Oxpecker protection
The little birds act as a set of eyes, keeping watch for human hunters than a rhino can't detect on it's own. (Jed Bird/)Rhinos are massive, gorgeous, creatures with very few natural predators. Despite this, these beauties are critically endangered and are tough to find outside of wildlife parks and reserves. This is mostly due to an increase in poaching. But according to a recent study, protection could come from an unlikely source: The small but mighty Oxpecker.Rhinos are nearly blind as a bat and tend to fly solo, which makes detecting an unfriendly hunter or defending themselves from one a tricky task. But a winged, vampire-like frenemy could be the difference between a rhino roaming scot-free and being surrounded by danger.The relationship between rhinos and Oxpeckers goes way back. In fact, the Swahili word for the bird is quite literally “the rhino’s guard.” In a seemingly mutualistic relationship, the...