Crows plucking ticks off wallabies like they're fat juicy grapes off the vine

[u/pichipichipoco]

[u/Blestyr]

Watched these videos a while back. Somewhere in their comment section I read some crows are learning to be gentler when removing ticks from the wallabies, so they become less stressed, allowing them to eat more. Corvids are just geniuses.

[u/BokUntool → u/Blestyr]

Intelligence grows into those cracks.

[u/Tumid_Butterfingers → u/BokUntool]

Now I want to be a crow, if the wallabies are people, and the ticks are corporate CEOs.

[u/Baelaroness → u/Tumid_Butterfingers]

One day an enormous corvid swoops down out of the New York sky and starts sniping people out of penthouse offices.

[u/EVILtheCATT → u/Baelaroness]

Yes, please!

[u/elmz → u/Blestyr]

Guba Na Nature Refuge on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3GBHwVEfNA

From the description:

These corvids have not been observed to remove and eat ticks in previous years - they appear to have only learned this behaviour in 2019. All of the birds started out lunging and snatching at the ticks, with the result that they removed a beakful of fur as well as the tick - naturally the wallabies object to this! While some still lunge and snatch, others appear to have developed a more precise art over these past weeks - they use more finesse, removing smaller and smaller ticks while ripping out less fur, with the result that the wallabies are more relaxed and increasingly prepared to accept their attentions, which allows the corvids to be more precise and rip out less fur... a positive feedback loop. It is uncertain where the improvement started, with the wallaby's attitude or the corvids' increased skill. The corvids at our other property 20km away still show no sign of learning the tick removing behaviour.

[u/Free_Pace_2098 → u/elmz]

They've also been learning to flip over cane toads to eat their less toxic parts.

It started with a relatively small group of them being observed doing it, now it's becoming a common behaviour.

[u/Fn_Spaghetti_Monster → u/Free_Pace_2098]

Reminds me of the orcas that just eat the livers of sharks they kill.

[u/Pattoe89 → u/Fn_Spaghetti_Monster]

The interesting thing about this is that Orcas are able to, with their sensors, detect how much or how little fat a sharks liver contains as sonar reacts differently to oils, so will not bother a shark who isn't storing much fat in their liver, waiting instead for the shark to stock up its supply before killing it.

[u/drdollars → u/Pattoe89]

Oh my doctors do this too. It's called a wallet biopsy

[u/A_Nude_Challenger → u/Blestyr]

Corvids are just geniuses.

Years ago I was waiting in my car outside of a grocery store during a heavy snow. Right above the automated doors to the store were a couple of ravens hanging out on the overhang. When the sliding door made a sound the ravens would dump a pile of snow off of the overhang and onto whoever was walking below.

Afterwards the ravens would hop around in celebration.

It was fantastic.

[u/SuddenSeasons → u/A_Nude_Challenger]

This is a more widely known crow fact but they'll drop nuts into crosswalks (zebra crossings) and then wait for the walk signal, collecting all of the nuts that cars so helpfully shelled for them. 

[u/clickstops → u/SuddenSeasons]

That's fantastic. Thanks for sharing.

[u/Useless_bum81 → u/SuddenSeasons]

Japanese crows where making nests out of fibre optic cables. Utility companies where allowed to destroy nests to curb the behaviour. The crows started build decoy/backup nests increasing the amount of damage they were doing to the infrastructure.

[u/bottomstar → u/A_Nude_Challenger]

I used to get attacked on my way to school by a crow in the park. Without fail. I had to start going around the park. I asked if any of my siblings or friends had the same issue and they all thought I was crazy. It was legit just me. He had decided I was the chosen one to hate.

[u/DestructoSpin7 → u/bottomstar]

You wronged a crow at some point in your life.

[u/SuperRonnie2 → u/DestructoSpin7]

Or had a similar jacket or something to someone who did. They don’t forget, and they teach their children.

[u/4ha1 → u/bottomstar]

I've read somewhere that a bunch of whole peanuts would turn that enemy into a powerful ally

[u/Fun_in_Space → u/Blestyr]

Crows have been observed using their beaks to carve twigs so that they can fish grubs out of the holes in trees. That's tool-making behavior. It blows my mind.

[u/casket_fresh → u/Fun_in_Space]

They also leave gifts for humans that are specifically man-made objects. They know the objects aren’t part of nature, but human-related, so they collect and drop it off for a human that is regularly nice, feeds them, maybe saved them or a member of their family. They are intelligent enough to go ‘this thing isn’t from nature, it’s the human animal’s thing, I will give them it as a gift, they will like it because it is human thing’

[u/sparrowtaco → u/casket_fresh]

They are also able to identify humans that have mistreated them, hold long-term grudges against them, and communicate those grudges to other crows who weren't around for the initial encounter.

[u/Eragon_the_Huntsman → u/sparrowtaco]

Not just humans. A friend of mine had a cat who messed with crow chicks once when they snuck out of the house, and they had to be extra careful from that point on to keep him inside because the crows had their house on watch from that point on ready to attack the moment the cat stepped outside again. Actual Mafia behavior.

[u/Dull_Sale → u/Eragon_the_Huntsman]

There was a study done at a university, on Crow Behavior, in Washington. Where they had participants were the same looking Halloween mask and harass the local crows on campus..the results were that the crows communicated with each other to start attacking the “masked person” whenever they saw him/her. Not only that, but they wanted to see how widespread the results were and it was well beyond the scope of the university; beyond their own “group.”

Crows hold grudges 🐦‍⬛🔪🐦‍⬛🩸😵

[u/Ormulade → u/Dull_Sale]

And this went on for years if I recall correctly. They tried it again after some years and even the next generation of crows were attacking the masked humans.

[u/BrightPerspective → u/Eragon_the_Huntsman]

Less mafia, I think, and more seeking justice.

Did you know crows have "Courts" where they determine guilt, and punish offenders accordingly? They also hold funerals.

[u/VTinstaMom → u/BrightPerspective]

I fed a few families of crows for years, when I lived out on the west coast USA, and they basically adopted me and my family.

Got invited to the funeral when the patriarch died, and it was amazing. A circle of crows beneath an old pine tree, singing and grieving around a body they had covered in flowers and twigs. Later they moved him to another location, but they definitely chose that location for gravitas and ceremony.

I did make sure that the new owners understood the crows (and loved them) before I sold the house. Those birds really are something special.

[u/Silver_Warning3259 → u/BrightPerspective]

I have seen this behavior in crows in Nothern Australia. When I was a young and stupid teen I shot a crow for sport. I then witnessed the funeral held by all crows in the area. Was amazed and felt (rightly) a huge piece of shit for doing it. Told friends about this incredible behavior and was often scoffed at, but my respect for all creatures went way up after that and my rifle was retired.

[u/No_Solution_4053 → u/Eragon_the_Huntsman]

Actual Mafia behavior.

see: murkrow and honchkrow of the pokemon series

[u/bdphotographer → u/sparrowtaco]

I am a victim of this. Whenn I was between 10-14 a murder of crows would always be cawng at me. Becauae, I scared away few crows from our roof when my mom was drying some spices in there. I feel like crows still caw at me when I''m living in a different city.

[u/Cobalt_Bakar → u/bdphotographer]

They can communicate to a wide network of crows, about 40 miles’ radius from the initial observation of behavior that made them deem you to be a “bad human.”

[u/Foxasaurusfox → u/Fun_in_Space]

"observed using your beaks"

So you've already concluded we're on the internet, huh? Clever human.

[u/googleHelicopterman → u/Foxasaurusfox]

Pretty sure crows are beating my ass in online games all the time

[u/QueefBuscemi → u/googleHelicopterman]

They do get away with murder.

[u/propaganda_manda → u/Foxasaurusfox]

SCRAAAAAAWWWW!!!! THE BIRDS KNOW, BROTHER!!! CAW CAW CAW CAW!!! I FOLLOWED A FLOCK OF CROWS YESTERDAY AND THEY LED ME STRAIGHT TO AN OLD TREE!!! IT FELT LIKE THEY WERE SENDING A MESSAGE!!! WE’RE CLOSE TO THE TRUTH!!!!!!! SPREAD YOUR WINGS AND FLY FREE!!!!! CAW CAW CAW CAW CAW 🦅🦅

[u/joshualotion → u/Blestyr]

Is there anywhere I can watch these gentler crows. Can imagine how satisfying it’ll be

[u/PracticalTie → u/joshualotion]

I've seen this video before! Its part of a series. The person who set up the camera made a few comments on youtube about the crows techniques which was interestign

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVoHwn2PBAc

[u/the_pw_is_in_nsfw → u/joshualotion]

Seems like this vid (a few years later) has the crows figuring out that gentle is good 

[u/BlueDubDee → u/Blestyr]

Seems like they don't mind them pulling the ones on their backs, but their ears are sensitive. Just going in and ripping it probably hurts more there.

[u/TurnipWorldly9437 → u/BlueDubDee]

Plus, having had an ear-cleaning or two in my life, you're going to HEAR them rip those out

[u/MysticalMaryJane → u/Blestyr]

Crows are so smart, we really don't treat some animals with the respect deserved and the service they provided humans once upon a time. Like pigeons for example, during wars they were vital back in the day to the point pigeons became semi dependent on us hence them walking up to you and past you on high streets and now we treat them like a pest. Another one is horses, more respect than others get but still way below what is deserved of these creatures

[u/Xerzajik]

Ticks must be rough when you don't have hands with opposable thumbs.

[u/DiarrheaApplicable → u/Xerzajik]

Can they not rub their back really hard against rough bark on a tree or something to get it off?

[u/Jita_Local → u/DiarrheaApplicable]

Once they're dug in, not really. This is a good example of why preserving symbiotic relationships like this in nature is really important, along with protecting natural predators. Without these things you get runaway infestations (which is happening with tick populations everywhere). Possums have been observed doing this for deer on game cameras as well.

[u/crackpotJeffrey → u/Jita_Local]

It's like when sharks have that gangster-looking entourage of small fishies to eat parasites of them.

[u/above_average_magic → u/DiarrheaApplicable]

It's like shaking off a toddler. Way harder than you think it is. Small but mighty!

[u/WesThePretzel → u/DiarrheaApplicable]

Have you ever had a tick? They’re not easy to remove, even with hands.

[u/Steampunkmagus → u/DiarrheaApplicable]

Not unless they want to take some skin/fur with it, ticks are pretty strong and durable for their size.

[u/ComradePruski → u/DiarrheaApplicable]

Ticks kinda burrow and barb. It's extremely difficult to pick them off with your hands, or frankly anything else. They're also generally really hard to squish too, cause they're hard as a rock a lot of the time. You can bash them with a rock or a book, but I've never seen one die from being squished.

Source: Have had ticks before, and had 3 last year after a hiking trip that got the tweezer treatment.

[u/anothercatherder → u/DiarrheaApplicable]

When the tick bites and continues to feed, the saliva contains an anesthetic which numbs it somewhat, and if left alone it'll fall off after a while.

If the head of the tick is stuck from an incomplete removal it increases the risk of infection and irritation.

[u/Pigeon_Fucker4 → u/Xerzajik]

Ticks are the leading cause of juvenile moose death in north america. We need cold winters to kill off the ticks so that more moose survive to adulthood.

Climate change isnt gonna let us have cold winters much more

[u/Informal_Insect24]

I love how the crow pretends to drink water to get closer

[u/Loveknuckle → u/Informal_Insect24]

Like that annoying coworker at the water jug. Just inching ever so close.

[u/Brikandbones → u/Loveknuckle]

Hey Steve, how's it going? Are those grapes I see there? Don't mind me ha ha. Can I have a look? Wow I'll just have a taste they look good, thanks.

[u/Worth-Reputation3450 → u/Brikandbones]

You should bring a few ticks to the next crow association meeting!

[u/FinestMochine → u/Informal_Insect24]

I had a rooster that attacked anyone and it rush while you weren’t looking and when you were looking at him he’d peck at the ground to seem inconspicuous

[u/zth25 → u/FinestMochine]

Did he whistle while pecking the ground?

[u/joespizza2go → u/Informal_Insect24]

Washing down the ticks though

[u/Awkward-Friend-7233]

That one tick was huge. I had no idea this happens.

[u/ConversationFit9888 → u/Awkward-Friend-7233]

Yea, but the last wallaby was worse, nasty infestation, poor thing

[u/forthedistant → u/ConversationFit9888]

in part because they seemed so sensitive to the crow, i think. if they had more tolerance it wouldn't be nearly so bad.

[u/Correct-Professor-38 → u/forthedistant]

Shit’s gotta hurt getting those things ripped off with a beak

[u/forthedistant → u/Correct-Professor-38]

and yet if i had that alternative my response would be an immediate "gore away, my crow friend."

[u/MrBootylove → u/forthedistant]

It's very possible that the wallaby isn't even aware of the ticks and just thinks this crow is fucking with him.

[u/Jazzlike-Chair-3702 → u/MrBootylove]

No that last one looked leperous from the damage the ticks had done. I KNOW that hurt

[u/MrBootylove → u/Jazzlike-Chair-3702]

Probably, but that doesn't mean the wallaby is aware of why it hurts or that the crow is removing the thing causing the pain he's in.

[u/forthedistant → u/MrBootylove]

tragically the crow's smart little birdbrain is much more capable to make the connection than the wallaby.

[u/IAmStuka → u/forthedistant]

If the Wallaby thought the crowd were just fucking with them there would likely be either aggression or avoidance.

You don't give them enough credit. On some level they understand what's happening, but it's clearly painful so it's not a surprise to see them flinching.

[u/jld2k6 → u/MrBootylove]

My dog whose had a collective tens of thousands of years with humans before her time won't even trust me to fuck with her nails when she splits them lol, I'm also amazed they're putting up with it

[u/RockstarAgent → u/jld2k6]

These are the types of interactions where I ask myself about the concept of language and communication that can exist within a species but not outside of it. So we humans can learn other languages but can the crowd learn to speak wallaby? Do all species of creatures have language? Can roaches “talk” or do many creatures just have their own way of communicating but they’re not exactly having discussions. Supposedly bees have to do some kind of weird thing to tell others where food is at instead of just having others follow them - but us having languages - is it a big brain opposable thumbs thing or pattern recognition? Then again we have also strived to communicate with creatures and have succeeded with a few.

[u/EarthenEyes → u/Correct-Professor-38]

Doesn't ripping them off leave the head of a tick in the skin?

[u/tapefactoryslave → u/EarthenEyes]

At this point, they’ve had plenty of time to recirculate their nastiness. The head being left in is a minor inconvenience after it’s been on for days already.

[u/Dots_n_funk → u/tapefactoryslave]

It’s this. It could potentially cause a secondary infection in the skin, but by this point any communicable diseases have been passed along.

[u/Refflet → u/forthedistant]

That last one had a bloody ear from the crow ripping a tick off, and most of them have chunks missing from their ears. Then, the camera at the end has blood on the lens.

I'm sure it's generally better for the wallabies but tick removal in this way isn't exactly ideal.

[u/forthedistant → u/Refflet]

i assumed most of the blood was much more from bursting the "grape", as it were. from my own experience with mosquitos and to a lesser extent ticks, when they're full and they burst it can be quite dramatic.

so blood is being spilled, but from the general chillness of animals that would be under attack, it's secondary blood that's been removed from them already.

that secondary blood probably makes them more tasty and nutritious to the crows, actually. ticks doing the dirty work.

edit: also, the chunks in their ears seem to be a bit of a horrendous optical illusion-- the line of the ears are intact, but the ticks are sticking out so much to look like it's frayed.

[u/d0g5tar → u/forthedistant]

I pulled a huge tick off of my dog once and it fell on the floor. I was kind of panicking so I stepped on it, and it popped like a blueberry. I think your idea about how the blood gets on the camera is probablu right.

[u/paulinaiml → u/ConversationFit9888]

The crow looked at it like if they just put fresh food from the kitchen in the buffet tray

[u/spicybongwata → u/Awkward-Friend-7233]

This is unfortunately what also kills over 50% of moose calves, tick infestations of 30,000+ can feed on them until they die. It’s the leading cause of death in young moose.

It’s been a growing issue with a warming climate, especially in the Northeast US. Ticks are able to survive the milder winters happening in areas like New Hampshire and are pushing the moose into parts of Maine and mostly Canada, where it still gets consistently cold enough to kill the ticks.

[u/alariemike → u/spicybongwata]

The ticks are getting worse in Canada as well, fwiw.

[u/TolBrandir → u/spicybongwata]

That's fucking awful. I had no idea!

[u/innatemeans → u/Awkward-Friend-7233]

right, those things can get pretty big

[u/Perfect_Bowler_4201 → u/innatemeans]

Please someone correct me if this is wrong:-

This is a female tick in the last phase of its lifecycle. It gorges on the host and only the female engorges like this to many times its normal size. It’s normally attached for many hours to achieve this. When it is ready it will detach and fall off and be ready for mating; the female will lay many eggs (not sure of numbers but definitely 100s and maybe 1000s). If they are carrying disease causing bacteria, that will be passed to the offspring.

Fun fact, they are actually part of the arachnid/spider family as they (well some species) have six legs for part of their lifecycle but grow two extra ones as adults. Not sure of that is true for all types of tick. Overall they are truly disgusting beings and I now like crows way more than I did 20mins ago! Those crows are literally removing thousands of new ticks from the environment.

[u/whattodo4klondikebar → u/Perfect_Bowler_4201]

Yeah, I hate ticks with a passion. The amount of diseases they carry and the amount of people they infect per year is truly upsetting. My wife has lime disease, but it was from a blood transfusion. So, someone got it probably from a tick and donated blood. If I could wish for anything to never exist it would be those mf'ers. They don't contribute one bit to society.

[u/agent_sphalerite → u/whattodo4klondikebar]

Wait don't they screen the blood before accepting it ?

[u/starfishpounding → u/agent_sphalerite]

Lyme test is pretty inaccurate. To the point it's barely used. CDC just uses an engorged tick as a likely enough vector for Lyme and several other diseases that all get the same treatment. 2 week of doxycline to burn it out.

[u/Drelanarus → u/starfishpounding]

Lyme test is pretty inaccurate.

While it is true that false negatives are quite common during the early stages of the disease, I think it's worth pointing out that the main reason Lyme disease isn't screened for is because it's so incredibly unlikely that there has literally never been even a single confirmed instance of human-to-human transmission of Lyme disease outside of mother-to-child transmission during pregnancy.

The notion of transmission through blood transfusion currently only exists as a matter of theory. That's the real reason why it's not screened for.

/u/whattodo4klondikebar

/u/agent_sphalerite

[u/Kat121 → u/whattodo4klondikebar]

One of my aunts can’t eat red meat anymore because of a tick. (Alpha-gal syndrome)

[u/pravis → u/Awkward-Friend-7233]

I guess Australia has scary ass ticks as well.

[u/MarkHirsbrunner → u/Awkward-Friend-7233]

If you've had dogs or cats and live in tick country, you'll be familiar with the big fat gray ticks, they hide in ears.  It's rare for them to get that big on a human before it's found and pulled off, but my grandmother had a tick deep in her navel that she didn't discover until it was fat and gray.  She was a very fastidious woman so this was extra horrifying to her.

[u/Dragonsymphony1 → u/Awkward-Friend-7233]

Check out ticks on Giraffes, they can get so many they kill the giraffes

[u/HefflumpGuy]

I've been filming egrets doing this with water buffalo this week. They're not too happy about having a long, sharp beak near their eyes but they obviously dislike the ticks even more.

[u/ParcelPosted → u/HefflumpGuy]

I love that the mammals have a bird that tends to their ticks! Any other parings like this you know of?

[u/IAmBadAtInternet → u/ParcelPosted]

There are birds that pick bits out of predator’s teeth. Similar idea - it’s healthy for the predator so they don’t eat the birds. Sharks have a similar relationship with cleaner fish.

[u/_reg1nn33 → u/IAmBadAtInternet]

google en symbiant

[u/OBESEandERECT → u/_reg1nn33]

Holy help

[u/nat_geo_wild- → u/ParcelPosted]

Look up mutualistic or commensalism relationships for a long list of organisms that do things like this!! Nature is amazing

[u/TurkeyLurkey923 → u/ParcelPosted]

I believe there are fish that eat barnacles and such off of whales. That seems pretty similar to this. 

[u/SoDrunkRightNow4]

this was very therapeutic to watch

[u/someannouncement → u/SoDrunkRightNow4]

Humans: lest be gentle. We don't want to scare the animal or at the very least hurt them for no reason.

Crows: I'm going in mofo. If you lose an eye it's your fault.

[u/Obvious_Arachnid_830 → u/someannouncement]

Bro was shoulder deep in his ear canal for a split second. The wallaby trying to process that while staring at the crow made me giggle. "Were...were you just inside of my fuxing head?"

[u/WalkerTexasBaby → u/Obvious_Arachnid_830]

It's never a straight mutual relationship with birds

[u/Petrichordates → u/WalkerTexasBaby]

Think of it as a blood sacrifice to protect them from lions and poachers. You scratch my back I'll scratch yours.

[u/nasal-polyps → u/Petrichordates]

How does bird protect rhino from lion or gun?

[u/bwood246 → u/nasal-polyps]

If all the birds chilling on my back suddenly flew away I'd be a bit worried

[u/Hojabok → u/nasal-polyps]

Being a lookout and making a fuss when there is danger?

[u/insane_contin → u/someannouncement]

Also Crows: Eyes are the best part of the wallaby.

[u/iwantsomeofthis → u/insane_contin]

We will wait until you are dead however. Mostly. 

[u/ABadHistorian → u/iwantsomeofthis]

Unfortunately I wish that were true. I grew up in NZ/Aus - birds (rooks in NZ, basically crows) would peck the eyes out of lambs.

Fucking horrific delivering a lamb one day, to have to put it down four days later because I didn't shoot the bird.

[u/[deleted] → u/ABadHistorian]

Jesus dude

[u/load_more_comets → u/ABadHistorian]

Moral of the story, a dead bird on the ground is worth 2 eyes in a lamb.

[u/hefty_load_o_shite → u/load_more_comets]

What is it with you guys losing battles to birds?

[u/Snizl → u/hefty_load_o_shite]

Dinosaurs have never gone extinct. It just seems Australia is the only place where the Dinosaurs remember that fact.

[u/BOWCANTO → u/insane_contin]

The Crows Have Eyes

[u/Inevitable_Dust_4345 → u/someannouncement]

Fuck jerry , that is my mole !

[u/jamaicavenue → u/someannouncement]

Why you flinching bro

[u/xxyourbabyxx → u/SoDrunkRightNow4]

Seeing the crow swallow them is bleh, bleh, bleh. But watching the crow remove them is so satisfying.

[u/forevertwentyseven → u/xxyourbabyxx]

Exactly, it was pretty fucking disgusting. So where can we find some more? 😂

[u/Eusocial_Snowman → u/forevertwentyseven]

I dunno about crows removing ticks, but I could show you the way to a subreddit where there's currently a video trending of a person removing huge clumps of hair from a pig's teeth. Like it's jammed up in there between the teeth and gums pretty good.

r/FeltGoodComingOut

[u/IDrinkWhiskE → u/Eusocial_Snowman]

The internet is a strange place

[u/MalificViper → u/Eusocial_Snowman]

Jesus I just did vent cleaning that looked like that.

[u/ScottyArrgh → u/[deleted]]

r/oddlysatisfying

[u/esoares → u/[deleted]]

I think that is mutualism, not symbiosis.

[u/Puban_Games → u/esoares]

Mutualism is a kind of symbiosis. 👍

[u/cphusker → u/Puban_Games]

It’s a concept of a plan

[u/MinimaxusThrax → u/cphusker]

They're eating the ticks.

[u/Hitchslap11 → u/MinimaxusThrax]

Comments like this make me love the usual cesspool that is the internet. Bravo.

[u/Manting123 → u/SoDrunkRightNow4]

Is there anything crows can’t do?

[u/SpotweldPro1300 → u/Manting123]

Swim. Dig. Use Gust. Surf might still be on the table.

[u/SM9118ArtStudio → u/SpotweldPro1300]

I also don't think they can use Giga Drain just yet.

[u/fisack → u/SpotweldPro1300]

I reckon they'd give surfing a crack. They can tobogan. Haha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9mrTdYhOHg

[u/Neither-Wallaby-924 → u/SoDrunkRightNow4]

A good day to be a wallaby

[u/TorpidWalloper → u/Neither-Wallaby-924]

Better day to be a crow

[u/Competitive_Abroad96 → u/TorpidWalloper]

From the tick’s perspective; “It is a good day to die.”

[u/bill_brasky37 → u/SoDrunkRightNow4]

Is r/disgustinglywholesome a thing?

[u/Bluesbrother504]

Blood on the camera at the end?

[u/Spiritual-Apple-4804 → u/Bluesbrother504]

Yes

[u/Ashtonpaper → u/Spiritual-Apple-4804]

It’s a bloody affair

[u/OstentatiousSock → u/Bluesbrother504]

Those ticks are biting in deep. It’s possible that, as the bird ripped one off, he caused a spurt of blood and it happened to hit the camera. It seems to be a small streak.

[u/CradleRockStyle → u/OstentatiousSock]

Ticks gorge on blood. Popping them could spray the blood, like crushing a mosquito.

[u/HoboVonRobotron → u/CradleRockStyle]

I've seen dogs with what look like bullet wounds, but they're ticks that exploded. They get a lot of blood over time.

[u/Rex_felis → u/CradleRockStyle]

So really the crows are eating the wallabies.

[u/RaptorsFromSpace → u/OstentatiousSock]

The Wallabies ear looked a bit bloody at the end there. I wonder if it's entirely from the tick or if the bird nicked it a couple times.

[u/Quailman5000 → u/RaptorsFromSpace]

They all looked like the ends of their ears have been slowly nibbled off by ticks.

[u/Hoodi216 → u/Quailman5000]

Could be mosquitos too, ive seen cats by the end of the summer their ears are like open sores from relentless mosquitos.

[u/Kyvoh → u/Bluesbrother504]

Formally known as the money shot

[u/succed32]

I love corvids. Such awesome creatures.

[u/kungfubillium → u/succed32]

Doesn't fit exactly, but "corvids" takes me back:

Here's the thing. You said a "jackdaw is a crow."

Is it in the same family? Yes. No one's arguing that.

As someone who is a scientist who studies crows, I am telling you, specifically, in science, no one calls jackdaws crows. If you want to be "specific" like you said, then you shouldn't either. They're not the same thing.

If you're saying "crow family" you're referring to the taxonomic grouping of Corvidae, which includes things from nutcrackers to blue jays to ravens.

So your reasoning for calling a jackdaw a crow is because random people "call the black ones crows?" Let's get grackles and blackbirds in there, then, too.

Also, calling someone a human or an ape? It's not one or the other, that's not how taxonomy works. They're both. A jackdaw is a jackdaw and a member of the crow family. But that's not what you said. You said a jackdaw is a crow, which is not true unless you're okay with calling all members of the crow family crows, which means you'd call blue jays, ravens, and other birds crows, too. Which you said you don't.

It's okay to just admit you're wrong, you know?

[u/itearson → u/kungfubillium]

That takes me back, wow. If I remember correctly, unidan? what an asshole. Meteoric rise and fall

[u/MexGrow → u/itearson]

Holy shit, I had blanked out that there was a time we had famous redditors.

[u/okcup → u/MexGrow]

There were some good ones too. ShittyWaterColor is still around and was funny to see the same comment every time in response. “You’re getting better!”. The poem guy was good too. 

My favorite was a later entrant who would go into a story and then it would devolve into getting beaten with jumper cables. 

[u/Orleanian → u/okcup]

Let us not forget the always pleasant surprise Shittymorph!

[u/snickerslv100 → u/MexGrow]

Jumper cable guy

Vargas

Poem For Your Sprog

Unidan

What a time it was, way back then. This just hit me with a hard wave of nostalgia.

[u/Classic-Selection-83 → u/MexGrow]

/u/shittymorph is still around so there's still a couple out there still kicking

[u/shawncplus → u/itearson]

The fact that reddit still holds a grudge that deep after literally over a decade is unreal. He made some snide comments and it was revealed he had an alt account he upvoted posts with. You'd think he was a rapist or murdered someone for the community to have ill will persist for 10 years.

[u/GD_Insomniac → u/shawncplus]

Unidan got exposed for vote manipulation before the ubiquity of bots and AI on reddit. At the time it was a big deal; these days nobody would bat an eye at such behavior. In fact, humans using a few accounts to boost their content seems like an appropriate response to bots doing the same thing.

[u/mr_potatoface → u/shawncplus]

At least we don't have to deal with gallowboob any more.

[u/risinglotus → u/mr_potatoface]

We have 1000x Gallowboobs now, it's just bots

[u/zbornakssyndrome]

He’s trying to help you! Stay still

[u/Welcome440 → u/zbornakssyndrome]

"There are 30 to choose from, stop going after the ones by my eye, pick anywhere else."

[u/Forward_Collar2559 → u/Welcome440]

"Look, this shit is all over you, let me get the precision spots before I start getting drunk on your essence...MmmMmmmm!"

[u/Snap-Pop-Nap]

That is awesome and SO DISGUSTING

[u/cake-and-peonies → u/Snap-Pop-Nap]

Right! I kept saying "that's DISGUSTING!" but I still watched this twice.

[u/PQbutterfat]

Nature is crazy. Crows are eating bloated TICKS off random animals, while I have to cook my chicken to 165 or risk raging diarrhea.

[u/Particular_Lime_5014 → u/PQbutterfat]

Pretty sure our digestive system gets to be more effocient in return since we can digest those cooked proteins easier but that's dangerous half-knowledge so don't quote me on it

[u/chandy_dandy → u/Particular_Lime_5014]

yes, while cooking doesn't actually increase the calorie content of food (in fact if anything it should diminish it slightly from it getting burned) the partial digestion/preprocessing that happens with cooking means we get to more efficiently absorb energy from our food

at the same time cooking veggies can often damage their nutrition content, but it varies from veggie to veggie and some basically have to be cooked

[u/Bonesnapcall → u/chandy_dandy]

the partial digestion/preprocessing that happens with cooking means we get to more efficiently absorb energy from our food

The term is called "Bioavailability" and is the leading theory for the evolution of man. When we mastered fire and started cooking meat, our brains got bigger from the much better nutrition.

[u/forthedistant]

"bro you want me to get your ear ticks or not geeeeze"

[u/Warthogs309 → u/forthedistant]

It's like a dentist trying to work on a kid.

Dentist mind: "Stop fucking moving you little shit"

[u/highfiveselfoh]

Ticks are one of my least favorite things. I kill them mercilessly.

[u/Parking_Ocelot302 → u/highfiveselfoh]

I pull them off my dog and hit them with the blow torch. Fuck ticks.

[u/Loveknuckle → u/Parking_Ocelot302]

I once used the backend of a claw hammer to rip a grape-sized tick off my dog. Worked well and she only flinched a little.

As that blood sucking grape-fuck laid there on its back, legs flailing like a fat fuck face-hugger, I grinned as I perfectly flipped that hammer 180 degrees. I held it there for a little bit. Just hovering 3 inches over this vampire plum-gusher.

It knew. Legs thrashing at air. Grasping for any chance at survival. Seconds later, I let the weight of the hammer reign down on this blood-nut. It looked like a gunshot wound… if you were to photoshop a GSW off a person’s body and pasted it on a wood floor (or something). It was coagulated and black. Like a ‘black cherry’ gusher. I gagged a little.

[u/Parking_Ocelot302 → u/Loveknuckle]

Every now and again they pop like porn corn and the boiled blood comes out all aggressive like a murder scene.

[u/Ill-Detail-1830 → u/Parking_Ocelot302]

Porn corn

[u/LightFestMeal]

Hell yeah!! Symbiotic relationship (fuck ticks)

[u/Stoomba → u/LightFestMeal]

All my homies hate ticks

[u/ladyscientist56]

Ticks make me so uncomfortable I'm nauseous just watching it

[u/AlbinoShavedGorilla]

They get so stressed they DIE when you capture them??? That’s crazy

[u/Frank_Perfectly → u/AlbinoShavedGorilla]

Plenty of mammals like that: deer, dolphins...

[u/Sirdroftardis8 → u/Frank_Perfectly]

...redditors

[u/Alarming_Orchid → u/Sirdroftardis8]

Hey I have claustrophobia ok

[u/Foxasaurusfox → u/AlbinoShavedGorilla]

Wallabies are unbelievably sensitive. You can catch them when they're very young but at this size, yeah, they'll most likely die. If not in the moment, then they'll smash themselves on fences or have heart attacks from the stress.

[u/pichipichipoco]

Credit: Guba na Nature Refuge

[u/Levaporub → u/pichipichipoco]

Link: https://youtu.be/TfDSBrsVGx8

[u/HarryCoinslot]

Welp I'm not eating grapes for a while

[u/mimisa702 → u/HarryCoinslot]

I just finished eating some prior to seeing this video...nope... not happening again...no more grapes for me.

[u/Chance-Ear-9772 → u/mimisa702]

Are you guys planning on moving to eating ticks…..?

[u/coloradokyle93]

r/crowsbeingbros

Edit: omg it’s real😂

[u/ProperSupermarket3]

r/animalsbeingbros

[u/StillNoMoreCookies → u/ProperSupermarket3]

Crows being bros

[u/Shirinf33]

Awww the second one's poor ear after the ticks were removed! :'(

[u/Qm-5074]

crows are friends

[u/Head_Attorney_9687]

Like little exploding boba pearls!

[u/ToothbrushGames → u/Head_Attorney_9687]

And I had just added grapes to my list of foods that I won't be eating in the near future...

[u/ghosttaco8484]

Question:

Are crows susceptible to any diseases that the ticks may be carrying?

[u/TreeFiddyJohnson → u/ghosttaco8484]

Unlikely, but they might be a reservoir like other birds for West Nile and the sort

[u/The_Captain_Planet22]

If we could get some of these crows in Maine for the moose that would be cool

[u/AlternativeDrop9408]

Wouldn’t that type of tick removal leave the ticks head imbedded in the animal..if that’s an issue? Just curious.

[u/harlequin018 → u/AlternativeDrop9408]

Yes, mandibles can remain in the skin and the wound can get infected. Also, the crow isn't wearing gloves or using antiseptic. Tisk tick.

[u/Revenga8]

Now imagine how many they could eat if they learned to be a bit gentle about it

[u/coroff532]

Things like this show how important a balanced eco system is.