Much like human soldiers in combat, members of a large, black, termite-eating ant species found in sub-Saharan Africa march in formation into battle and afterward retrieve wounded comrades and carry them back home to recover.
Scientists on Wednesday described the unique rescue behavior of the African Matabele ants, called Megaponera analis, after observing them in Cote d'Ivoire's Comoé National Park, but did not ascribe charitable motives to the insects.
"This is not an altruistic behavior," said entomologist Erik Frank of the University of Würzburg in Germany, who led the research published in the journal Science Advances.