I'll reply again to drop some hidden lore for your contemplation.
We had originally planned to go further; beyond the watering hole. You would consume the hippo, and the oxpecker would still be insatiable. You as the newly crowned king of the watering hole would venture out into the world to continue consuming hippos. Hippos of all kinds. Hippos of all shapes. Hippos doing all sorts of things. Driving to work. Raising familes. Investing in the hippoconomy. The only cure for the oxpecker would be to consume the entire planet... no... hippoverse. Until there was nothing left. Only to eventually succumb to starving in the abyss of space alone. Thinking back to the simple days of ticks, maggots, and flys. Where did it all go wrong?