Oh my! Is the hippo eating these fish?!?
No. He could eat them if he wanted to but these barbell fish are his helpers. They eat ticks from his skin and food from his teeth. It’s a symbiotic relationship.
The hippo and the barbell fish are just one example of the unlikely partnerships animals make with other species. Watch the premiere of Nature’s Perfect Partners on Wednesday May 11 to learn about many more — lizards with lions, a fish with a blind shrimp, toads with tarantulas.
Here’s a preview:
Don’t miss Nature’s Perfect Partners this Wednesday May 11 at 8pm EDT/ 9pm CDT on PBS. In Pittsburgh it’s on WQED.
(photo courtesy PBS NATURE © Mark Deeble/Vicky Stone)
Thank you for the reminder! And thank you for this blog! The more I learn about our natural world the more I am in awe, and so much more I realize I don’t know.