Gentle Giants

The wonder that is the Serengeti is something not easily described with words, or even through pictures. When I returned home and attempted to convey my experiences, the closest I came to explaining it was that it feels as if the beginning and the end of the world is there. Every colour, sound, and texture in existence seems to coalesce in that great expanse of land.

As is to be expected when venturing out in the Serengeti, there are many different groups on tours, all hoping to catch a glimpse of something special. My group was one of many – far too many to count – and by this point we had spent close to a week with our trusted and skilled tour guide roaming through the savannah, witnessing one majestic scene after another.

The massive size of the giraffe is something that is drummed into our psyche from childhood: we see their long necks in stories and gaze up at them at the zoo. But I was completely unprepared for the breathtaking sight of giraffes in their natural habitat, where they appeared to tower over the hills behind them. These stoic giants of the Serengeti seem like they’re from another world or time, so graceful and yet so formidable. They’re a subject you can photograph endlessly and still be in awe.

When I reviewed some of my photos of the tower of giraffes later on, I played around with different types of sometimes absurd editing, adding in extreme contrast mostly as an experiment to capture the juxtaposition of their silky hair against the thorny plants that surrounded them, or to highlight the splotches on their fur that each looked like a unique snowflake.

One particular group of giraffes that stands out to me to this day is mainly due to the presence of – what I thought was – an unusual visitor, who was literally hanging out on the mouth of the giraffe.

To be completely honest, I actually cannot recall if I noticed the tiny bird at the time of taking the photograph, or whether it was an extremely fortunate chance occurrence. Despite how close the zoom is, we were some distance away and if it weren’t for my long lens, I doubt I’d have been able to notice it. But there was no doubt about it, a little bird no bigger than the giraffe’s ear was very comfortably hanging out with the gentle giants.

When it came to editing the final image, I had to straighten the picture by one degree because I was too occupied with quickly snapping this once in a life time opportunity before the bird flew away! Little did I know that the bird in question, the yellow-billed oxpecker, is actually notorious for hanging out with giraffes during the day, and has even been known to sleep in the giraffe’s armpit overnight!

It turns out that the yellow-billed oxpecker has something of a symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship with giraffes and other large mammals, such as water buffalos and hippopotamuses. By perching on the necks, backs, heads, and even mouths of the mammals, these little birds have the dual benefit of being able to easily find their next meal – by picking through the hair of the giraffe in search of irritating insects and ticks, while also having a safe place to sleep at night. At the same time, the giraffe benefits by having cleaner, healthier, tick-free skin.

I found it both remarkable and fascinating that two such seemingly different creatures could successfully coexist in such a way, and I was – and still am – endlessly inspired by the lessons that we stand to learn from animals simply by looking with an open heart and open mind.