Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Vogelbam here with another classic episode from
Speaker 1: the archives. This one is about an interesting corner of
Speaker 1: behavior and psychology, and I don't want to bury the lead,
Speaker 1: so I'm gonna let former Lauren take it away. Hey
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren vogel Bam Here. You've probably seen stories
Speaker 1: about exemplary bravery and battle soldiers and volunteers who risk
Speaker 1: everything to pull injured compatriots out of harm's way so
Speaker 1: they can receive much needed medical attention. But some of
Speaker 1: these heroes will never receive any medals, parades, or commendations
Speaker 1: for their work, not because of injustice, but because their aunts.
Speaker 1: A species called Megaponara analysis are termite hunting ants that
Speaker 1: scientists say not only rescue injured comrades, but also treat
Speaker 1: their wounds. The survival rate among those injured in this
Speaker 1: combat is remarkable. Up to These ants live in colonies
Speaker 1: in sub Saharan Africa that average nearly one thousand members.
Speaker 1: The ants wage war on termites, raiding their nests and
Speaker 1: dragging the dead back behind the lines as a source
Speaker 1: of food. These raids, however, often come at a heavy price.
Speaker 1: The termites bite and crushed the ants, ripping off limbs
Speaker 1: and snapping off heads. Eric Frank, a scientist at the
Speaker 1: University of Lausan in Switzerland, has studied these ants and
Speaker 1: seen them do battle with termites at a research station
Speaker 1: in the Komaay National Park, one of the largest protected
Speaker 1: areas in West Africa in northern Cote Deuvois. He would
Speaker 1: watch the ants drag the injured back to their nest.
Speaker 1: But because the ants make their homes underground, it was
Speaker 1: difficult to divine exactly what happened next. So Frank and
Speaker 1: his team set out to discover what was happening inside
Speaker 1: the nest. First, they captured entire ant colonies and set
Speaker 1: them up in artificial nests. They then hooked up infrared
Speaker 1: cameras to keep tabs on the insects. The scientists also
Speaker 1: captured termites and then allowed the ants to stage a raid.
Speaker 1: Many ants were gravely injured during the melee. Many lost limbs.
Speaker 1: Their able bodied comrades responded by staging a battlefield triage,
Speaker 1: separating the gravely wounded from the only slightly wounded. The
Speaker 1: seriously injured those who lost at least five limbs often
Speaker 1: died on the battlefield, because, as the researchers noted, they
Speaker 1: didn't seem to want to be helped, that bend and
Speaker 1: distort their bodies, making it difficult for their sisters in
Speaker 1: arms to carry them to safety. Those whose wounds were
Speaker 1: less serious, however, allowed themselves to be cared for. Once
Speaker 1: back at the nest, the healthy ants set up an
Speaker 1: aid station where they tended to the wounded, licking their injuries.
Speaker 1: Ants who did not receive this treatment had an eight
Speaker 1: percent chance of dying within twenty four hours after the battle.
Speaker 1: Those who were treated had a survival rate of up
Speaker 1: to nine and lived to fight another day, to the
Speaker 1: benefit of the whole community. Frankness Team theorized that the
Speaker 1: licking saves lives by preventing the onset of infection. Today's
Speaker 1: episode is based on the article Ants Rescue and Treat
Speaker 1: Wounded comrades on House to Forks dot com, written by
Speaker 1: John Partano. Brain Stuff is production of i Heeart Radio
Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuffworks dot Com, and it's produced
Speaker 1: by Tyler Plain. Before more podcasts to my heart Radio,
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