All Creatures Big and Small
Get out and take those photos. Tell those stories. You never know who they will reach and how it will change them. Animal stories are humanitarian stories are environmental stories are climate stories. Jo-Anne McArthur
Maasai Giraffe ©kathykarn
I appreciate hearing from readers, about what touched you, what you noticed. Several of you mentioned last week’s blog put a smile on your face which in turn put a smile on my face. Thank you!
Before I go further, it helps my Substack reach a wider audience if you add your comments directly to the post. Apparently, that entails setting up a Substack account. There is no obligation and no cost, however, if you don’t want to do that then please continue to email me, your words often inspire my next blog, like Barry, who said “Did you see birds on their necks? Neat…thanks.”
©kathykarn
Wildlife photography often reveals a sub plot to the main storyline. The little birds are red billed ox peckers; they have a symbiotic relationship with giraffes eating blood engorged tics on the giraffe’s skin. Here’s a link to a previous blog about giraffes and ox peckers.
©kathykarn
A giraffe’s unique drinking position gives ox peckers special access to harder to reach places like armpits and bellies. Look closely, those black dots on the giraffe’s chest are dozens of tics. When a giraffe drinks, they remain still enough for the tiny birds to do some serious ear cleaning too.
Avian earrings ©kathykarn
Bird wings add a super long lash appearance to this giraffe’s face while other oxpeckers munch in ears, climb the neck or take a bath alongside their ginormous companion.
©kathykarn
It’s common to see giraffes sporting an avian necklace of little oxpeckers. Sometimes the birds are responsible for split second photo bombs, sometimes they add to the image.
©kathykarn
One of my favourites images featuring this relationship is The Giraffe and the Ox Pecker. You can brighten your own space with this image by shopping my online gallery. A percentage of all sales supports conservation in Kenya. If you want to fund giraffe conservation directly, consider donating to Save Giraffes Now, an organization that is protecting these beautiful animals from extinction.
©kathykarn
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