Watch How A Warning Call Puts This Family of Elephants on Alert!

In the wild, it is, as they call it, a dog-eat-dog world. No matter how big, small, or fast an animal is, danger is always approaching. Some animals in the wild have specific roles they play to help keep the ecosystem balanced. Symbiotic relationships can come in different forms, such as parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism. Parasitism is where one species benefits and the other is harmed. Commensalism is where one species benefits and the other does not benefit or is not harmed. Mutualism is where both in the relationship benefit from each other.

The Peaceful Elephant

Elephants are known to be very social and peaceful animals in the wild. They usually have a symbiotic relationship with other animals they share space with. This symbiotic relationship is called mutualism, which indicates both species involved benefit. For example, birds will eat parasites off of elephants. The bird benefits from having a free meal, and the elephant is parasite-free. Another example of a mutual relationship is with Olive Baboon. Elephants will dig water holes during dry periods of the year for the baboon, and in return, the baboon will alert if danger is near.

Tigers

Although elephants are peaceful animals, the tiger stands no chance against the size and unity elephants have. Tigers are swift ambush hunters that use stealth mode to hunt their prey. They typically go after prey much smaller than elephants but doesn’t mean they are off the menu! These creatures will stalk their prey quietly and then attack when their prey least suspects it. Tigers know the strength of elephants, so they will usually target the weaker of the group or, in this case, the baby elephant.

Watch The Video!

I am still determining the bird type in the video, but I am going with either an Oxpecker or an Egrets. Both oxpeckers and egrets will alert certain animals of potential predators nearby. Other birds just enjoy interrupting predators from a potential meal. Very cheeky animals! In this video, a bird warns the elephant that a tiger is nearby. The elephants then form a circle to protect the calf. Elephants form circles around their young or a pregnant momma giving birth to protect them from predators.