HEBREWS 4:16 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Are you ready to lend a hand to someone?
Crocodiles try to eat most birds that come near them. But one kind of bird can walk about among crocodiles and be quite safe. In fact, these birds even lay their eggs in the same place where the crocodiles lay their eggs! The birds are called water dikkops and they eat insects that bother the crocodiles. Of course, this gives the birds an easy meal, but it also makes the crocodiles more comfortable. So the birds are really helping the crocodiles and maybe that’s why the crocodiles don’t harm them.
Other birds, called tickbirds, help the rhinoceros. A rhinoceros usually won’t let other kinds of animals near it. But it lets tickbirds ride on its back! Tiny insects on the rhinoceros’ back bite it and make it itch, and the tickbird eats these insects. This makes the rhinoceros feel better. Little fish called wrasses help many other fish.
Tiny worms often fasten themselves to a fish and make sores on its body. When this happens the fish goes to a coral reef where a wrasse lives. The little wrasse hunts all over the fish’s body and eats all the worms. The water dikkop, the tickbird, and the wrasse are all getting something from the animals they help. They are getting food. And the animals they help are getting rid of pests that bother them and cause them pain.
Filed under: Life, animals, character, gospel, mystery, nature, science | Tagged: crocodiles, mutualism, tickbirds, water dikkop, wrasses
