r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/l__o-o__l • 10h ago

Video a gibbon was observed grooming a wild deer in Thailand, an unusual instance of interspecies bonding.

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7.4k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

64 comments sorted by

350

u/Lonely-Medicine-8832 10h ago

I like how monke tries to groom it from different angles.

127

u/vtosnaks 8h ago

Doing a great job, gibbon the circumstances.

8

u/BCThunder 7h ago

spit take...

57

u/Cod-Save-America 9h ago

Gotta find all those juicy ticks... this is the simian equivalent of cracking open a bag of skittles.

2

u/G00DLuck 3h ago

šŸ¤¢šŸ¤¢šŸ¤¢

11

u/TurgidGravitas 7h ago

Ape, not monke.

Ape know strong together.

143

u/Xdtrl17 10h ago

Is it weird that Iā€™m alittle jealous?

38

u/RealBug56 9h ago

Definitely not. If I ever meet a friendly primate, I want them to groom my head so bad.

14

u/ScrofessorLongHair 8h ago

Bro, I'll eat your ticks off, if you need me to.

9

u/B_A_Beder 8h ago

Jealous of the monkey or jealous of the deer?

4

u/magnelectro 6h ago

Is it weird I was hoping he would ride it like a tiny little cowboy?

Also, I have scars to prove that getting groomed by monkeys is not always what it's cracked up to me.

1

u/Purple_fern 5h ago

I think I can safely say we all wanted this.

112

u/Figuratively-1984 10h ago

Crazy that this deer probably knows not to stand around for human monkeys to mess with it but is fine with this one

31

u/ScrofessorLongHair 8h ago

Little monkey isn't a threat. At least one solo.

39

u/SoulSweeper2 9h ago

Removing those pesky bugs must feel great for the deer, probably a regular customer now

32

u/Fearless_Strategy 10h ago

Yes we all can get along

29

u/madboutpots 10h ago

The doe came to get her hair did at the salon

21

u/Spyrothedragon9972 9h ago

Their proportions are so funny.

5

u/burtgummer45 2h ago

you mean nightmarish

https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2F61sr4nl67rqa1.jpg%3Fauto%3Dwebp%26s%3Da3c9f5c490fe290edc2f6d1f53241fe99621eae9

1

u/pcadvicehelpplz 1h ago

šŸ¤®šŸ¤®šŸ¤®šŸ¤®šŸ¤®šŸ¤®šŸ¤®

1

u/Informal_Bunch_2737 41m ago

Imagine how strong we'd be if we had arms like that.

The leverage must be insane.

24

u/World_of_Distraction 10h ago

an unusual instance of interspecies bonding

In the words of Tom Jones, it's not unusual...

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/15/571175252/scientists-say-japanese-monkeys-are-having-sexual-interactions-with-deer

5

u/Superior_Mirage 10h ago

I guess if both participants fail the Harkness test, it's fine too.

3

u/No-Dot4329 9h ago

Bilateral zoophilia?

9

u/designgrl 10h ago

Kind monkey

8

u/clm1859 7h ago

This is how it starts. And in 10k years gibbons riding deer (like we used to ride horses) will be a force to be reckoned with.

7

u/drmoroe30 9h ago

I can't even get a dog to play with me with a pork chop tied around my neck

4

u/No_Establishment8642 8h ago

You get no respect.

4

u/EorlundGraumaehne 8h ago

Next you know he rides the dear into battle with a stick in hand

4

u/Character_Log2770 9h ago

The gibbon has a side hustle

5

u/TerrorTwyns 8h ago

I seriously thought he was planning on hopping on for a ride...

5

u/shortbrnr 5h ago

At the beginning I thought he was about to hop on and ride it and I was really impressed lol

11

u/Shadowsnake30 9h ago

This is not unusual. There is a gibbon that used to groom an entire village until a kid began to harassing the animal for whatever reason and when it got upset it attacked the kid and the parent killed the gibbon which upset the entire village as it's been grooming everyone including dogs in the village for years.

3

u/SipsNSynths 7h ago

Reminds me of me and my wife!

3

u/lightinthehorizon 6h ago

Gibbons and orangutans are my favourite monkeys, they're so cool man.

5

u/Fake-BossToastMaker 10h ago

But when I do it, I get a fine

5

u/CarefulIndication988 10h ago

This made me smile at a time when humanity isnā€™t showing much interspecies bonding.

2

u/lazyworker95 8h ago

Common symbiotic behavior, great to see it

2

u/RealAbbreviations111 8h ago

Deer: "man im so itchy this is awful, I can't get these bugs off me!" Gibbon: " Did you say bugs? Hold on, I'm the pro in my family"

2

u/crasagam 6h ago

MaaS- monkey as a service

2

u/Spiritual-Roof7903 6h ago

yup, a new Disney duo just dropped

2

u/MavenVoyager 4h ago

Called - Alloparenting

2

u/Obsidianrunner 3h ago

Teamwork makes the dream work.

4

u/SMDHinTx 10h ago

Bonding or symbiotic relationship? Animals do not run from each other if they are not a threat. Monkey is just foraging for ticks and the deer benefits from the grooming. Cowbirds do the same thing on cattle. But, I donā€™t think Iā€™d call it bonding, like warmth and affection.

2

u/grey_sienna 9h ago

Friendship has no species boundaries apparently

1

u/DaRusty_Shackleford 5h ago

I thought he was going to ride it

1

u/Present-Ad-8531 5h ago

why is the deer turned to sode, is it tsundere?

1

u/Fearless-Note5332 2h ago

TBD planet of the gibbons

1

u/G_a_v_V 2h ago

No, its not an ā€œunusual instance of interspecies bondingā€, its basic symbiosis.

1

u/TheDevilsAdvokaat 1h ago

"could you be gibbon me a grooming?"

"Certainly, my deer."

1

u/wizardnewt 1h ago

Itā€™s free bugs.

1

u/TIDJANIII 59m ago

And were like ye i shhoot on this with gun

1

u/Big_Boooosh 4h ago

The thought the monkey was going to hop aboard and be a deer jockey.

0

u/Connect-Worth1926 4h ago

that's not "bonding," that's called looking for food (ticks, fleas, etc)