Because every individual and animal has a unique perspective, they could respond to the same circumstance in various ways. Similar to us, animals can have different tastes. A newborn rhino may not be interested in forming friends with birds, whereas an elephant may love to play with them. It’s cute and funny to watch how each animal has its personality.
One instance of this happened when a young hippopotamus was playing about when a flock of little birds called oxpeckers arrived on its back. The hippo initially didn’t mind the birds, but after a short while, it wanted them to leave. But the most hilarious thing happened when the birds failed to take off!
Check out these hilarious photos that photographer Marc Mol took at Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park! Mol was taking pictures of some hippos when he saw a juvenile hippo running towards him. A few oxpeckers were sitting on the hippo’s back. This lovely and endearing moment was caught on video!
Tiny birds called oxpeckers started nibbling at the terrified baby hippopotamus’ back as it screamed out for rescue. The hippo was frightened and tried to chase the unwanted visitors away. The distraught hippo said, “I’m not kidding; you guys have to stay away from me.”
The baby hippopotamus raced and twisted its body to fend off the bothersome birds attempting to eat it. To no effect, the hippo even made a fake rush for the water to frighten the birds away. Luckily, the birds soon flew away after becoming weary of their attempts to eat.
Hippos and oxpeckers have a special bond in which the birds eat ticks and other insects off the skin of the hippos, keeping them clean. But in this instance, a newborn hippopotamus finds the birds noisy and troublesome; thus, it doesn’t like their presence. The hippo tries to chase them off as best it can.
