The Oxpeckers Friend
tags: oxpecker, Inner Species Cooperation, creationism, ox, oxpecker, bird, symbiosis, eland, Intelligent design, creation
handout id: 3222
short name: The Oxpeckers Friend
nutshell: Oxpeckers
Wording of this Handout:
If you ever go to Africa you may see an animal called an eland.
An eland is an antelope, which eats grass and leaves. It looks like a deer.
The eland has a friend called an oxpecker. The oxpecker is a bird which likes to ride on the back of the eland. They like to travel together because they share a wonderful secret:
The oxpecker eats the tiny insects which live on the eland, and this suits the eland just fine and dandy. The oxpecker also keeps a look out for danger, and warns the eland when trouble comes along - such as a lion on the hunt.
So the eland needs the oxpecker and the oxpecker needs the eland. What a good arrangement.
God has designed many examples of co-operation in the world of Nature. It is not like some people say - just fighting and killing and survival of the fittest. Many animals work together to help each other.