Smart Animals: Look After Each Other

A knock-out drop

While hiking in Carnarvon Gorge in Queensland, my family and I noticed a small group of birds diving in and out of the branches of a gum tree. They were chirping very loudly and obviously in distress. We could see a nest in the branches with baby birds inside and a very large goanna walking up the tree trunk, having eyed what he wanted for lunch.

The small birds were desperate to chase the goanna away but had little hope because of their size. As we were contemplating what to do, a kookaburra flew down and thumped the goanna very solidly in his side, knocking him off the tree trunk. The small birds quickly settled down to care for their young.

Helen Ellwood, Mt Ommaney, Qld

She stayed at her post

One morning when I went down to the paddocks to feed the horses, I saw Happy, our fat black Welsh pony, standing near the fence by herself. At 19 years old, she’s the matriarch and usually stays close to the younger ones. When I threw down the hay she didn’t move, which was out of character as she’s usually the first to eat. However, I didn’t think too much of it. A couple of hours later when I went back to check the water in the troughs, she was in exactly the same spot. At 4pm when I went down to feed the horses, Happy still hadn’t moved so I walked across the paddock to see if she was OK.

 As I got closer, I noticed that the two top railings of the fence were missing and there was a big gap where it had been kicked down by the over-exuberant stallion in the neighbouring paddock. He could have got through the gap and caused a lot of damage to the younger horses, chasing them or even killing them. Happy had stood all day guarding the gap so that he couldn’t get in.

She didn’t move away until I’d fixed the fence and she was confident the other horses were safe. Then she came to the gate and neighed for her dinner. It’s awful to think what could’ve happened if she wasn’t there to watch the fence.

Annie Skinner, Gisborne, Vic