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Researchers said big-headed ants started an “ecological chain reaction” in a Kenya conservancy, impacting lions and other animals Big-headed ants kill native acacia ants, which protect trees from elephants and other herbivores in Kenya — one of a few African nations with a sizable lion population — by swarming into the animals’ nostrils and biting when they try to eat the trees’ leaves, branches and bark. As acacia ants have dwindled, elephants have been able to knock down and eat more whistling thorn trees. With fewer trees, lions have lost the cover they rely on to stealthily attack zebras, their primary prey. The study, which was published Jan. 25 in the journal Science, found that lions are less likely to kill zebras in uncovered areas. They killed 25 percent fewer zebras between 2003 and 2020, the study said.
