The Ark Files - Living together

Some animals have perfected the art of living together. It's called symbiosis, and it's all about give
and take.

My home is your home

Sharing a house is not always easy - but for some it's the only way to go. Bright orange anemone fish live amongst the venomous tentacles of sea anemones. Anemones feed on fish, paralysing them with their tentacles, yet this particular fish can even enter the stomachs of the anemones without being digested. The anemone fish are sheltered and protected from their predators who stay away from the anemone's tentacles. Sometimes the fish also sneak their food.

At the other end of the scale there is the tiny tropical fish that lives inside a sea cucumber. The fish comes out at night to feed, and on returning to its host, pokes the sea cucumber's rear-end with its snout, quickly turns around, and is drawn tail first up into the bottom of its live home.

In the rain forests of South America live the oropendola birds which build their large hanging nests right next to colonies of stinging bees. These bees are fierce when aroused. Day and night they patrol and defend the area from all intruders including large-billed toucans that can snatch the bird's nestlings. The oropendolas, however, are not stung by the bees, which seem to recognise their smell, and it is also thought that the birds eat the carnivorous wasps and ants which prey upon the bees. To avoid their natural enemies, the bees sometimes build their nests inside the nests of tree-living termites where they are protected by the termite soldiers. The termites tolerate the bees since they help to defend the nest from other ant-eaters. So birds, bees and termites live comfortably together all on the same branch of the one tree.

Real live dental floss

Some animals even put their killer instincts aside for the sake of living together. It is common for large fish such as sharks to have certain types of smaller fish clean their awesome teeth. These fishy dentists safely remove the leftovers from previous dinners. A cleaner wrasse is a fish with a skinny body which is perfect for slipping inside the mouths of squirrelfish. And their fee? Their dinner - the food from between the fish's teeth! Some species even set up cleaning stations where the larger fish form a queue, awaiting their turn to have their mouths cleaned.

And what about Nile Crocodiles and Egyptian Plovers? The plover hops right inside the gaping mouth of the crocodile to remove the leeches that stick to its gums. After the job is done, the plover is allowed to escape unscathed. These birds also warn the crocodiles of the approach of their human predators.

Don't look now..!

Oxpeckers are African birds that spend most of their waking hours hanging off antelopes, giraffes, rhinos and hippos. The oxpeckers climb over the bigger animals' hide, searching for and gobbling up ticks, fleas and other irritating and dangerous parasites. They serve as personal grooms and are often seen comically hanging out of an impala's ear or burrowing head first into a buffalo's snout. As a thank you, the oxpeckers also alert the grazing animals to danger. When a predator approaches they raise the alarm with a hissing "tssssssssss" and a shrill chattering call as they fly off.

Baboon packs often join antelope herds and the two feed together. The antelopes use their keen sense of smell and the baboons their sharp eyesight to warn each other of the presence of enemies. A baboon's bark and an antelope's sudden dash will send all nearby creatures rushing for safety.

I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine

Helping each other find food is another good reason for working together. The Greater Honey-guide bird is excellent at finding bee's nests but can't get into them to reach the honey. The bird's ringing call immediately attracts the attention of a nearby African Ratel or Honey Badger. The excited bird will then dart back and forth leading the eager Ratel to the recently discovered hive. Its role as seeker and guide finished, the bird then waits, perched on a branch, as the Honey Badger tears open the nest to feed on the bees, larvae, wax and honey. Then it is the bird's turn to feast on the opened nest.

The Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert have also learned to make use of the honey-guide's ability to locate bee hives, and of course the Bushmen reward the bird by also sharing the hive's goodies.