Red mouth cattle plunder bird: "Hey, big man, someone is here, run !!"

In the short shrubs in Africa, a black rhino was looking for food, and there were several red -mouth cattle plundering birds on the back.

From time to time, this group of birds flew back and forth on it, but the black rhino was dedicated to this behavior, because for large -scale herbivores, their skin gaps or wounds often had lice, crickets, maggots and other parasites. They are very uncomfortable, but these parasites are the favorite foods of cattle and birds, so black rhinos can tolerate the existence of these "cleaners".

In fact, the relationship between black rhinos and red -mouth cattle birds is called mutual benefit in nature. Cowbred birds can help herbivores clean up the annoying lice and crickets on their bodies; and in addition to providing them with food, they also provide them indirectly.

Of course, the latest research shows that the relationship between black rhinos and red -mouth cattle seeing birds seems to be not just as simple as mutual benefit. For black rhinos, cattle birds are more like their "small guards", and they will remind them of them. Dangerous approaches.

Black rhinos are a kind of creature with uniqueness and poor vision. They are not aware of the danger of nearby nearby, so it is easy to be captured by poachers.

In the first half of the last century, Black Rhinos had been the largest number of rhino species in Africa and even the world. At its peak, about 850,000 black rhinos were active in eastern and southern Africa.

The scope of black rhinos in history

By the beginning of 1990, the number of black rhinos has decreased significantly. According to statistics, there are less than 2,500 black rhinos in the wild at the time, and the main reasons for the sharp decline in the number of them need not be said. It can be said that the poacher "Zhang San" is the happiest "outside of the law".

That's right, illegal poaching breeding by international rhino horn transactions is the biggest threat to the survival of black rhinos. It is much more serious than the changes in the habitat and other people's homes (elephants, black spots) to grab food.

However, human beings have a single side of the black rhinoson affection. In fact, it is not a day or two. According to the literature "China and Rhino", as early as 1200 BC, ancient people often hunting black rhinos and removed them. Come to make wine glasses, and by the way, the rhino leather is cut off to make leather armor and armor; in the Middle East, rhino horn has always been the main source of local decorations, such as the exquisite scabbard and the exquisite scabbard and Mealing appliances.

However, these demands will not hurt the lifeblood of the black rhinos. Under the adjustment of nature, their population number can still maintain a relatively stable state. However, in the early 1970s, the demand in the market in the market increased drastically, resulting in the number of them decreased by 96%between 1970 and 1992.

Because the decorations made of black rhino horn have gradually become a symbol of "rich and tasteful" (similar to the ivory next door), and there are rumors that the black rhino horn can also be used as medicine, which helps to improve the male "charm". Its price is rising.

In this way, the poacher thinks about "freedom of cherry" by capturing black rhinos.

So, what is the relationship between your black rhinos?

It really doesn't matter before it was placed in the past. At most, it was to change the "master" 呗, but the problem was that the excessive killing of human beings caused the number of black rhinos to decrease significantly. It has to be changed again, which gave the cattle that the cattlebird had great selective pressure.

Therefore, the cattlebird evolved a special ** "anti -human behavior" -the sound of alarm to remind the black rhinos nearby are dangerous **, why is it "anti -human"? Because for other predators (such as dogs, lions, etc.), the black rhino's "anti -predator behavior" and their weapons ** (sharp corners and hard skin) can effectively fight large carnivorous animals, otherwise Why can Black Rhino live to the present?

Unfortunately, these tricks to deal with predators on the grassland are much worse for human hunters. Let's not say that with the help of modern weapons, the ancient people cooperated with spear hunting rhinos. Even several black rhinos. The "anti -human behavior" evolved by cattlebirds can help Black Rhinnia earlier to know the nearby poachers threatened and stimulate their "anti -predator behavior".

The research team from the State University of California conducted two years of observation experiments in Hluhluwe – IMFOLOZI Park in South Africa. During this period, the researchers were close to near Black Rhino. The result is divided into two groups: when there is no cattle to plunder birds on the back of the black rhino, only 23%of the black rhinos discovered the danger, and the distance was very close, about 21 meters.

In addition, when the Black Rhino has these "small guards" on the back, every time (100%) of rhinos (100%) can discover the approach of human beings, and it is a relatively long distance (about 61 meters). After the cattlebird issued a warning voice, the black rhino will immediately be vigilant (such as standing up from the rest location), and then they either continue to be vigilant or choose to escape directly.

Interestingly, this experiment also indirectly confirmed the anecdotes and folklore circulating in African hunters, that is, red -mouth cattle and birds are the anti -human sentry of black rhinos.The name of Buphagus: Lororynchus) is Askari Wa Kifaru, which is the guard of rhinos.Although the cattlebird acts as the "sentinel" of the black rhino, don't think that they are completely kind. In fact, they can be said to be a parasite such as lice, mites and other parasites of rhino watches.Parasite.

When a wound appears on the rhino skin, the cattle bird can't help secretly drinking a little blood, but in order to obtain the alarm information, the black rhinos can only endure it.

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