Ants work with acacia trees to prevent elephant damage!

Is it just me or are ants really awesome?

A species of acacia tree found in Eastern Africa seems to be protected from elephant damage - by the ants that live on it.

Researchers from the Universities of Wyoming and Florida, in the US, carried out a series of studies in Laikipia District in Central Kenya, and Tsavo National Park, also in Kenya.

Tree cover was decreasing while elephant numbers were increasing. Tree cover stayed the same where elephants were excluded using a high electric fence that other animals can cross.

This planet never ceases to amaze me. It's just another fantastic example of how fragile and intertwined an ecosystem can be. There is also apparently a massive ant colony that spans from the Alps to the Pyrenees which is the largest known ant colony in the world! The colony in total extends over 5760 kilometers and is home to a family of several billion members.

Some other cool stuff ants can do!







The original article;

www.bbc.co.uk...

Big ant colony links;

everything2.com...

news.bbc.co.uk...

reply to post by Big Raging Loner



"The colony in total extends over 5760 kilometers and is home to a family of several billion members."

wow s & f!

after reading the other ant thread and the op claiming they are not intelligent, i would have to argue that and use this thread as proof.

i to am amazed at this planet andthe creatures that roam it.

thanks!

I think ants are beginning to pose a credible threat to the USA, many posess chemical weapons and they could be hiding anything in those tunnels!. I vote that the USA destroys each and every domestic ant terrorist by launching an immediate nuclear strike against all 50 of it's states.

[edit on 2-9-2010 by Arkady]

But yeah apart from probably having resources we should liberate they are pretty awesome.

Ants are pretty amazing.

Insects seem to have some of the most amazing architecture in the animal kingdom.

I remember seeing the ant superhighway video on here a while back and it is truly an amazing sight.

Originally posted by Big Raging Loner
Is it just me or are ants really awesome?

A species of acacia tree found in Eastern Africa seems to be protected from elephant damage - by the ants that live on it.

No elephants were filmed, harmed, noticed or placated-murderedenmasse in the filming of this video.

And Ants can be pure hell.. look for a doco about crazy ants and red crabs.. god damed youtube has nothng. rare.

I didnt edit, I fixed stupid quote tags. I want my 100 bonus back 8[