Giraffe and oxpeckers. View of a Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) carrying a group of small, grey oxpecker birds (Buphagus sp.). T

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Giraffe and oxpeckers. View of a Masai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) carrying a group of small, grey oxpecker birds (Buphagus sp.). The oxpeckers have a symbiotic relationship with the giraffe. They eat ticks and other skin parasites from the giraffe, relieving itching and pain. The birds themselves get protection from predators and a constant food supply. Giraffes live in dry grasslands with a scattering of trees. The giraffe is the tallest living land animal, and some specimens can reach over 6 metres in height. Their great height allows them to reach up to the tops of trees, and eat the highest leaves. Photographed in the Masai Mara reserve, Kenya.

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Size: 2480px × 3545px
Photo credit: © WILLIAM ERVIN/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: animal, buphagus, camelopardalis, giraffa, giraffe, kenya, mammal, mara, masai, nature, oxpecker, oxpeckers, sp., symbiosis, tippel., wildlife, zoology