A dwarf mongoose and a Southern yellow-billed hornbill engage in never-before-seen behavior in footage captured in South Africa.
A little dwarf mongoose has gone viral for playing dead around an unsuspecting yellow-billed hornbill bird in a clip filmed in the Sabi Sands Game Reserve in South Africa.
In the Safari Live video, the mongoose approaches the hornbill only to turn around and faint, appearing to fake its death while lying on its back. This goes on hilariously multiple times, although the hornbill seems nonplussed by the mongoose’s efforts.
“It went on for probably about 10 minutes,” says Tayla McCurdy, the WildEarth safari guide who can be heard in the video laughing so hard she has to stop to breathe.
“I don’t think I’ll ever see anything like that ever again in my life.”
Nat Geo Wild Scientists have documented many different species that “play dead,” including beetles, opossums, and snakes. The behavior, also known as thanatosis, is a strategy to trick predators into thinking their potential prey has expired.
Is that what’s going on here? Experts think not.
“In my opinion this is not a case of them playing dead, rather attempting to play with the hornbill,” says Julie Kern, an honorary research associate at the U.K.’s University of Bristol and founder of the Dwarf Mongoose Research Project.
“While it may look like it’s playing dead, the mongoose is most likely trying to lure the hornbill to play”
Lynda Sharpe, a behavioral ecologist at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, adds by email that dwarf mongooses will often roll on their backs when playing with other mongooses.
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Watch the hilarious video below:
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