[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help] 

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

Inbound: Earth Changes, Inflation, Food Riots, Civil Wars

What REALLY brought down Building 7? Firefighters expose the truth of 9/11

Locusts Descending on Ukraine

Seven Reasons Why PBS And NPR Deserve To Be Defunded

Why the U.S. Buys So Much Nuclear Fuel From Russia | WSJ

Another No News Day

Surveillance Video Shows Illegal Alien Kidnapping Elderly Woman

Tucker's Epstein comments trigger official Israeli backlash

Houthis Launch Mach 16 Ballistic Missiles At Israel

“Treasonous Conspiracy” – Tulsi Gabbard Calls for Prosecution of Barack Obama, Jim Comey, John Brennan and Others

TOO MANY CRACKS ! ERUPTION LIKELY IN ITALY ! Volcanology Conference in Geneva !

"I Tried To Warn Everyone!" - Elon Musk (Joe Rogan not in this video)

They Are Gambling the National Security of the U.S. on a Single Point of Failure

Cloud Seeding and Chem Trails across America (EPA Word Games)

Israeli settlers killed 117 sheep and stole hundreds more during an overnight

CBS to cancel Late Show with Stephen Colbert just days after host blasted company's settlement with Trump as 'big fat bribe'

Joe Concha: Stephen Colbert's show was 'no longer entertainment at this point'

California bill SB549 lets state seize fire-damaged land.

Israel's DARK SECRET Genocide Economy EXPOSED | Francesca Albanese

TORNADO + WILDFIRE = FIRENADO ! UTAH

"False, Malicious, Defamatory" - Trump Demands Unsealing Of Epstein Files, Threatens Lawsuit After WSJ Hit Piece

Russia After Russia || Peter Zeihan

EUROPE IS COLLAPSING: €2 TRILLION MEGABUDGET Will Bankrupt the Entire Continent

Extending Microsoft 10

Trump Says Coca-Cola Agreed On Major Reformulation To Use Real Cane Sugar

Garland Favorito and VoterGA Appeal Inexplicable Dismissal of Curling vs. Raffensperger Election Ruling

Born to Revolution: The “Red Diaper Baby” Roots of Zohran Mamdani and Today’s Democrats

These Are Richest People In Every US State

Education Department Investigates Foreign Funding At University Of Michigan After Arrests of Chinese Scholars

Israel editing WIkipedia, Former Israeli Prime Minister Debunks Epstein


Science/Tech
See other Science/Tech Articles

Title: Rhino, Tickbird Stuck In Dead-End Symbiotic Relationship
Source: The scallop;)
URL Source: http://www.theonion.com/content/new ... ino_tickbird_stuck_in_dead_end
Published: Sep 26, 2007
Author: Unknown
Post Date: 2007-09-26 19:36:30 by intotheabyss
Keywords: None
Views: 280
Comments: 4

POLOKWANE, SOUTH AFRICA—After three rainy seasons together, a black rhinoceros and a parasite-eating tickbird are beginning to suspect that their symbiotic relationship has fallen into a rut, the couple reported Sunday.

"We're really symbiotic—almost too symbiotic," the rhino said. "It's just gotten so predictable lately that I'm starting to wonder, 'Is this all there is?'"

The rhino and tickbird pass another morning on the African savannah not saying one word to each other. First meeting at a local watering hole in 2004, both creatures immediately saw themselves as natural for one other and, in the words of the rhino, felt something "new, gratifying, and mutually beneficial." Within hours, the tickbird had moved into the rhino's habitat and set up house on his thick hide.

But as time went on, it slowly dawned on the couple that their partnership was perhaps merely one of convenience.

"I admit, when we first got together, I was a total mess," the rhino said. "She really helped me clean up my act. But we've been together so long now that I always know exactly what she's going to do next."

Devouring horsefly larvae embedded in her 3,000-pound partner's back, the tickbird seemed to agree that there was little fire left in their symbiotic relationship. At worst, she said, it feels like she and the rhino have been trapped in the same dead-end symbiosis for "countless millions of years."

"We just go through the motions, and there's hardly any communication," the tickbird said. "And we do it the exact same way every time. I get on top and take the parasites off while he just lays there."

"Feed off the embedded ticks on his hide, chirp when the predators come. Feed off the embedded ticks on his hide, chirp when the predators come. Where's the passion, the heat?" the tickbird continued.

The tickbird also accused the rhino of trying to make her "feel small."

"He doesn't realize everything I do for him," the tickbird said. "If it wasn't for my 'incessant squawking,' as he calls it, he would be shot by poachers before he even saw them coming."

Both creatures separately expressed envy of their neighbors, a plover and crocodile, who "never seem to have the problems we do," the rhino said.

"That crocodile appreciates having his teeth cleaned, and he makes sure she knows," the tickbird said. "Look at that big grin."

The rhino said that he often feels like a victim of her nitpicking.

"I might look tough, but I have feelings," the rhino said. "I give her plenty to eat and a great place to perch, but it feels like she's constantly pecking an open wound. Ugh, why can't we just be friends with mutualistic benefits?"

The frustration has caused the pair to act out in passive-aggressive ways. The rhino will frequently charge without warning, jarring the tickbird from her perch. Meanwhile, the tickbird often deliberately embarrasses her partner by speculating aloud about a symbiotic relationship with a cape buffalo or zebra, often within earshot of those species.

According to a nearby elephant, this sense of stagnancy commonly occurs in symbiotic partnerships across sub-Saharan Africa.

"The rhino and tickbird may have evolved physiologically to meet each other's needs, but it's clear they haven't evolved emotionally," the elephant said. "They need to recognize that in order to go forward. The rhino's loud snorting is very alienating. And obviously the tickbird is projecting her own feelings of inadequacy when she criticizes the rhino for being a typical Diceros bicornis."

For all their friction, both creatures conceded that they weren't sure they could actually live without each other.

"I don't know why we stay together," the rhino said. "I guess we're just creatures of instinctual habit."

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

#1. To: Zipporah (#0)

Bump

The secret of contentment is knowing how to enjoy what you have, and to be able to lose all desire for things beyond your reach. Lin Yutang

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." --- William Casey, Director CIA (Quote from internal staff meeting notes 1981)

intotheabyss  posted on  2007-09-26   19:37:11 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: intotheabyss (#1)

"The rhino and tickbird may have evolved physiologically to meet each other's needs, but it's clear they haven't evolved emotionally,"

Hmm the death nel to a relationship.. 'we grown apart' :P

Zipporah  posted on  2007-09-26   19:42:49 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#3. To: Zipporah (#2)

(imagine John Cleese's voice here)It's a matter of physics, a 10oz. bird and a 3000lb rino. How on God's green earth do they do it...you know with the naughty bits and all.

The secret of contentment is knowing how to enjoy what you have, and to be able to lose all desire for things beyond your reach. Lin Yutang

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." --- William Casey, Director CIA (Quote from internal staff meeting notes 1981)

intotheabyss  posted on  2007-09-26   19:48:50 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#4. To: intotheabyss (#3)

LOL! ..

Zipporah  posted on  2007-09-26   19:49:21 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest


[Home]  [Headlines]  [Latest Articles]  [Latest Comments]  [Post]  [Sign-in]  [Mail]  [Setup]  [Help]