Symbiosis is one of the quieter wonders of the African bush. The oxpecker and the giraffe have an arrangement that has worked for thousands of years — the birds remove ticks and parasites from the giraffe's hide, and in return they receive a meal and a moving vantage point. The giraffe, for its part, gains an early warning system: oxpeckers are noisy and alert, and they make a racket when predators are near. These three yellow-billed oxpeckers made for an unusually clean composition on the back of a giraffe in Botswana's Moremi Game Reserve — going about their business with the unhurried efficiency of animals that have never needed to question the arrangement. Print Details Printed on museum-grade fine art paper using archival pigment inks with a 100+ year lifespan Generous white border for easy framing Limited edition — signed, numbered and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity Shipped unframed in protective, eco-friendly packaging Carbon-neutral printing and packaging 10% of every sale supports BirdLife Botswana and African bird conservation Available Sizes Small: 12" x 8" | 305 x 203mm | Editions of 25 Medium: 24" x 16" | 609 x 406mm | Editions of 15 Large: 36" x 24" | 914 x 609mm | Editions of 10 X-Large: 60" x 40" | 1524 x 1016mm | Editions of 5 About This Image Location: Moremi Game Reserve, Okavango Delta, Botswana Photographer: Devon Jenkin Both species benefit from this relationship — the oxpeckers keep the giraffe free of parasites, while the giraffe's size and movement give the birds access to feeding grounds they couldn’t reach alone. It is one of those partnerships the bush has quietly perfected over millennia.
