Ants known to defend certain species of Acacia trees from elephant predation deter the massive herbivores so effectively that they are impacting entire savanna ecosystems, according to a study ...

Ants in your pants? That's nothing compared with ants up your snout. And that's what elephants in the African savanna must contend with when trying to snag a meal from a certain type of acacia tree.

The ant acacia is a small, thorny tree found in different parts of Costa Rica. It is famous, not for its impressive thorns or its ability to thrive in harsh environmental conditions, but because of ...

At the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, a wildlife preserve in central Kenya, lions and cheetahs mingle with zebras and elephants across many miles of savannah – grasslands with "whistling thorn" acacia trees ...

Acacia trees are a prominent feature of the East African savannah. They're also a classic example of the long-standing and complex relationships between plants and insects, in this case acacia ants.

After a recent period of major rainfall, I visited a wooded area to see what animals I could find, wondering if any had left for Noah’s Ark. I turned over an old piece of roofing tin and noticed that ...

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts. Ecologists have discovered the secret weapon used by certain acacia ...

If animals and plants can’t defend themselves, they often form partnerships with bodyguards. Wasps use zombified caterpillars. Corals recruit goby fish. And acacia trees hire ants. The ants defend the ...

I'm beginning to think that elephants are pretty wimpy creatures, especially for ones their size. First came the Mythbusters (video below), who demonstrated that elephants might really be afraid of ...

On a swollen thorn, Crematogaster mimosae workers attack invading C. mimosae workers from a neighboring colony. UC Davis researchers in Africa have a riveting tale of natural balance gone bad, with an ...

NEW YORK — A tiny invasive ant muscled into a Kenyan savannah and sparked such a dramatic transformation in the landscape that even the local lions changed the way they hunt, according to research ...

Researchers find that the ants of the acacia tree are tipped off to the presence of herbivores by vibrations that run throughout the trees when an animal gets too close or begins to chew. As a result, ...