Facts about the well-known gold digger ants

Let me tell you a story of facts, as it was once told by Herodotus, the father of history.

He says that in a desert in Asia there live some really big ants, smaller than dogs but bigger than foxes. (FACT #1) The ants live underground. They throw up sand heaps as they dig underground. The sand heaps are full of gold. (FACT #2) The people of the land have a particular way of collecting this gold. They take 3 camels and harness them together, a female in the middle and a male on either side. (FACT #3) The rider sits on the female. (OBVIOUSLY. Fact #4) But this is not just any female camel, but a female camel who’s just left her baby behind. The people are riding toward the desert. They time it right so they arrive in the desert during the hottest part of the day when the ants are underground hiding from the heat. (FACT #5) The people fill their sacks with gold as fast as they can (even though they must be dying of heat) and then they run away as fast as they can (Being fast must have been a prized virtue with these people). Why do the people run fast? Because the ants smell them, and they come out of their underground dwellings. (So what?) Well, these giant ants are FAST!! (FACT #6) There are no other animals in the world as swift.(FACT #7) Herodotus goes on to say that if the people hadn’t had a head start while the ants take their time to come out of their holes and figure out strategy of attack etc., the people would be dead. (FAST) But the people get a head start because the ants are slow to pursue them (But I thought the ants were fast, Herodotus. Ok, FACT #8 – the ants are fast but also conveniently slow) So, the people run. And then, the male camels, which are not as fast as the females, grow tired and fall behind. (FACT #9) The female camel, however, keeps running. She reaches her baby (that she dropped in a bush somewhere?), recollects it, and then runs as fast as she can to keep her baby safe. (So, the baby camel rides on the female camel, too, or what? Anyway, FACT #10). So basically the male camels die because they lack motivation to live. (FACT #11)

As you can see, Herodotus had an instinct for facts.

See you,

Misty