Cattle & Egrets

All of us are interdependent on each other. Be it man, animals, plant or just about anything else. We all form some part of the various cycles that are present in nature - food cycle, symbiotic cycle and for that matter even water cycle. Symbiosis is one such interdependent relationship where in two different species engage in mutual beneficial interaction.Looking from my apartment which oversees a lake, I see a herd of buffalos and egrets which share a symbiotic relationship. It is amazing to notice how each of them behave.

Ramu was a farmer who lived by the Ganges in the plains of India. He had 3 buffalos – Kallu, Shono and Munna. He would take his herd to graze by the grasslands near the river daily. While the herd grazed and swam in the nearby lake Ramu would spend his time reading a book or listening to the radio. Soon, the herd learned the way to the grassy patches by the lake and would go on its own. Kallu was the old and wise buffalo, he led the herd down the road and to the lake. They would laze in the cold waters during the hot afternoons and return back by evening. A group of egrets would join the cattle and pick ticks and other insects from their backs. It tickled the cattle but they enjoyed it as they would be free from the ticks. It was easy food for the egrets too. The egrets lived in the dry bush near the lake. They were called Tutu, Jeethu and Hasna.

The egrets and cattle were fast friends. Each day the egrets would wait for the cattle to reach the lake, then sit on their backs as they swam in the lake. The egrets would keep chatting about the many sights they saw as they flew around in the skies. They spoke about the festivities by the river, tourists who come to the city, market place and so on. The buffalos spoke to them about life at the farm, Ramu, his parents and so on. Tutu the young egret would sit on Munna, Jeethu on Kallu and Hasna on Shono.

One day Munna and the Tutu had an argument on who was mightier, Egrets or Buffalos.Tutu said – “ You buffalos are such lowly animals, you cant fly and see the world or soar up like we do ”. Munna retorted – “ So what, you birds just sit around, we give milk , till the farms and help Ramu and his family to live ”. Shono and Hasna heard their argument and joined in too. Shono said – “ We are bigger and mightier, we have four legs”. Hasna argued – “ We are fair, beautiful and have nice, light yellow tail feathers”. They argued about everything – usefulness, speed of movement, number of friends, color of skin, beauty and so on. Kallu and Jeethu smiled at the argument of younger folks but did not join in. The birds threatened that they would fly away whereas the buffalos said – No big deal!

The next day, the herd reached the lake but only Jeethu flew to Kallu. Hasna and Tutu did not join them. They flew around in search of food. Wherever they saw some small worms they ate it but it did not fill their stomach.There were other cattle too, but each had its own egret friend and Hasna and Tutu were not welcome. Munna and Shono were struggling as the ticks kept biting them and drinking their blood. They could not scratch so they tried to swirm in the swamp near the lake. But that did not help them much. This went on for few days. Munna and Shono were tired because of the ticks biting and the birds were tired because of lack of food.

Two days went on like this. The third day,Tutu and Hasna waited by a tree near the lake for the herd to come. Tutu and Hasna had lost weight and were looking haggard. Jeethu and Kallu smiled at the birds and the younger cattle. The birds came near the cattle and sat by Munna and Shono.

Kallu said – “ Shono and Munna,  Both of you have stared to become sick with the ticks biting you  and you Tutu and Hasna, what has come of you..haggard, thin and tired ”.

Jeethu said – “ Both of us need each other, we are good in our own way, but for us to continue to live happily and healthy, we need to co-exist and help each other. That  is how nature has planned us. ”.