Chapter 91 The Architect on the Prairie
In addition, it can also swallow termite corpses in the same ant nest and the old skin shed by young ants during development. When there is a lack of external food, it will also swallow termite eggs and even young ants. But eating each other is not their normal way of nutrition.
When Chu Ye saw the nests of these African termites, he thought of some information about these small ants.
'Hey, this little ant is really amazing! It’s incredible that tall buildings can be built on the prairie. Chu Ye looked at the small mound in front of him and was also curious about this magical little African ant.
'I don't know how this little ant builds such a tall building. How could they build such large mounds when they were so small? '
Chu Ye looked at the small mound in front of him and wondered again how these little ants built such special buildings on the prairie.
Chu Ye now feels that as long as he wants to know information about any animal on the African savannah, he can have relevant information about this animal appear in his mind as long as he thinks about it for a while.
When Chu Ye wanted to know how this kind of little ant built such a 'tall building', the question of how this kind of little ant built a tall building immediately came into his mind.
Everyone knows about ant nests. Ants known in the world will build their own nests. Ant nests are generally built underground and contain a series of interconnected underground chambers and are connected to the ground through passages.
In our daily life, we can also visit some ant nests. But these ant nests seem to be very ordinary, and there is nothing surprising about them. That's just digging some small caves on the flat ground.
But the ants on the African savannah are different from those in other places. The little ants on the African savannah not only build their nests underground, they dig tunnels underground and also build a grand above-ground building.
The reason why these little ants do this may be because the climate in Africa is relatively hot. They build such buildings mainly to escape the heat and cool down.
Under normal circumstances, we only see the entrances and exits of ant nests on the ground. When there is food or danger, a large group of ants swarm out of the entrances and exits on the ground instantly.
However, in the vast African grasslands, there is a kind of termite. They have no eyes and can only carry a small piece of soil at a time.
But these little ants can build a 9-meter-high "building" on the African savannah. Proportionally speaking, it is equivalent to humans building a 1,500-meter-high skyscraper - which is almost the tallest building in the world today (the Burj Khalifa). 828 meters).
This type of termite is called African termite. African termites are famous all over the world, and the various termite hills they create can be seen everywhere, especially in grasslands and forest areas. Like ordinary ants, African termites also have a strict hierarchical society. From top to bottom, the classes are female ants, male ants, soldier ants, and worker ants.
From the first day they establish their nest, worker ants continue to expand their nest. Most of them are in the shape of cones, some are in the shape of mountain peaks, mounds, mounds or columns. They are generally more than four or five meters in height, and some of more than ten meters are not uncommon.
Termites use clay brought from the ground, mixed with sawdust and grass, and then mixed with their own saliva and other secretions. After being baked by the sun, it becomes a building material as hard as concrete.
These tall termite hills are often made of more than ten tons of soil and are a unique landscape in Africa. There are millions of termites living inside. It is warm in winter and cool in summer. It uses air convection to maintain normal temperature and consumes no electricity at all.
Although most termites are pests that specialize in eating away at the beams and columns of houses, it must be said that termites are the masters of construction in nature. They have never learned any building structure, building mechanics, fluid mechanics, and have no measuring equipment or construction tools. It is truly amazing that with a mere 1cm body, he was able to complete a mammoth building that combines science and art in a short lifetime.
In fact, termite buildings not only look grand, but also have many functions. The first is the function of air conditioning, which can be said to be very magical.
The reason why African termites build their nests in the shape of a tall building is mainly to cool them down.
We all know that the African savannah has a tropical climate. There are no four seasons here: spring, summer, autumn and winter. There are only dry seasons and rainy seasons in a year.
It's better during the rainy season, as it rains frequently and the temperature isn't very high. But when it comes to the dry season, it's different. Since it often doesn't rain, the surface temperature is very high. Many animals find it very difficult to survive during the dry season.
This is because during the dry season, it is difficult for many animals to just cope with the high temperatures, let alone hunt.
The same goes for termites. Although the ants are very small, they have to survive on the prairie, and of course they have to cope with the high temperatures on the prairie.
So, the little ants built themselves an air-conditioned building where they could both live in and escape the heat - an African termite hill.
Chu Ye looked at the African termite hill in front of him and felt very incredible for these little animals. After all, it is very miraculous to think that this kind of ant is so small, but can build such a tall building on the prairie.
'Why! I heard that termites are a high-protein food! Otherwise, I'll catch some termites and taste them. '
Chu Ye knew that many animals on the African savannah feed on termites. The famous African anteater, the aardvark, feeds on termites.
Although the size of this aardvark is very huge compared to a small ant. But this animal actually eats small ants for a living.
There are also coyotes that also feed on termites. Although hyenas are as large as canines, they are also African animals that primarily eat termites.
In fact, many animals on the African savannah feed on termites. Many animals, not just aardvarks and coyotes, feed on termites.
Even the lion, the king of the African grasslands, sometimes feeds on termites.
During the dry season, many carnivores may also make a living on termites due to lack of food in Africa.
It can be said that this small African termite feeds many animals on the African savanna. Not just small animals, but also some larger animals.
Chu Ye now looked at this African termite mountain, and he wondered if he should try eating some African termites.
This small animal is a small animal rich in protein. Eating more African termites is very helpful to the body. Especially for lion cubs like Chu Ye who are growing up, if they can eat some termites, it will help them grow healthily.
Chu Ye now came to the vicinity of this African termite hill, and then found a hole, and he extended his claws into the hole.
Chu Ye originally thought of destroying this termite hill. In this way, he can eat a lot of termites.
But Chu Ye wiped it with his paw and felt that the entire termite hill was very solid, as if it was made of cement.
Originally, this kind of termite hill was very strong. If it were not strong, it would be impossible for such termite hills to exist on the African savannah.
Because during the rainy season, it rains often. If these termite hills are not waterproof, they may collapse after a heavy rain.
In fact, these termite hills are so strong that no matter how heavy the rain is, it is impossible to collapse them.
This kind of termite hill is a very special cement-like substance produced by the worker ants in the ant colony, mixed with the special saliva they spit out.
Although these anthills are just mounds of earth. But such mounds can always exist on the prairie. Unless it is attacked by a large herbivore, it may be damaged. Otherwise, such termite hills could always exist on the prairie.
Even if Chu Ye is a magical African lion cub, it has powerful attack power. But it can't destroy the African termite mountain in front of it.
'I'd better eat some termites and just have a taste. '
Chu Ye didn't intend to destroy this termite hill, it just wanted to taste the taste of these high-protein foods.
When Chu Ye put one of his claws into a hole, many soldier ants soon climbed onto Chu Ye's claws, and then began to attack Chu Ye.
But how could a little lion like Chu Ye care about the attacks of these little ants!
After Chu Ye felt a lot of little ants crawling on his paws, he retracted his paws. At this time, he saw many small ants crawling around on his paws.
Chu Yema immediately put his paws to his mouth, then stuck out his tongue and started to eat. These little ants soon became Chu Ye's food.
It's just that these little ants are too small, and they are not enough to fit in the mouth of a little lion like Chu Ye.
After Chu Ye ate all the ants on his claws, he extended his claws into the ant nest again. Soon, some little ants crawled onto its paws. Chu Ye retracted his claws and started eating these little ants again.
In this way, Chu Ye used this method and soon ate tens of thousands of ants. Although it ate a lot of ants, it was not full at all. After all, ants are so small. Even if Chu Ye is just a little lion, it is impossible for him to eat tens of thousands of ants to be full.
Chu Ye also had no intention of eating termites for food. After all, lions don't feed on termites. Although sometimes they will eat some termites, they will only eat some termites as a rescue when they feel very hungry and cannot hunt other prey.
Chu Ye was not very hungry now. He had just eaten a lot of beef. Now eating these termites is just to replenish some nutrients for the body.
After tasting these termites, Chu Ye walked towards his pride of lions again. The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and he was ready to go home and rest.
When Chu Ye returned home, the other lion cubs were still resting under the big tree with the lioness.
The male lion Jike was still lying on the boulder, but he didn't seem to be asleep. He looked up at the north of the territory from time to time, looking thoughtful.
When Chu Ye came back from outside, the lion just glanced at him and ignored him.
Although there were two other little lions playing under the big tree, they didn't do anything when they saw Chu Ye. It was as if they often saw Chu Ye coming back from outside alone.
Chuye returned to Lisa and went to sleep with the other little lions.
The weather is getting hotter and hotter. For lions, all they can do now is sleep and rest. You are full after eating, but you must pay attention to rest and don't let your body consume too much energy.
On this day, all the lions of the Jike pride rested under this big tree. Everything seemed to be no different from usual.
For these little lions, it feels like there is no difference between today and yesterday. It's just that they ate fresh beef today, and they were all very full.
But for the male lion Jike and the two lionesses, they already know what they should do tomorrow morning.
Chu Ye also had a premonition. It feels like this pride of lions may have to migrate to other places and will not live in this place forever.
Because the place where animals live must not only have food, but also water. Both are indispensable. Whether it is food or water, if an animal cannot survive, it will migrate to other places to live.
It’s time for the Jik lion pride to migrate. After all, there are no water sources in the entire southern Serengeti savannah. All puddles have become quagmire or barren land.
The lions throughout the southern Serengeti savanna are also leaving this savanna one after another to make a living in the mountains and forests of the north.
Yesterday, the more powerful lion group next to the Jike group had already embarked on its journey to the north.
Although the lion group has not had a full meal in the past few days. But when it’s time to go, you still have to go.
But when a pride of lions sets out hungry, it is very dangerous. Because on the way to the north, you will also encounter many dangers.
If all the lions in this pride are hungry, it will affect the combat effectiveness of the entire pride. If this is the case, of course it will put the lion group in danger at all times.
Especially for the little lions in this pride, it is even more dangerous. After all, lion cubs are a delicacy in the eyes of many predators.
If the adult lions in the pride set off without having a full meal, it will be difficult to protect their cubs when they encounter danger.
