Ants perform surgery on injured nestmates
Florida carpenter ants perform life-saving amputations on injured nestmates, boosting survival rates from 40% to over 90%, a unique surgical feat in the animal kingdom.
Florida carpenter ants are the only known non-human animals to perform life-saving amputations. When a nestmate is injured, other ants assess the wound. If infection risk is high, they bite off the leg at a specific joint, increasing the injured ant's survival from 40% to over 90%. For less severe injuries, they simply clean the wound with antimicrobial compounds.
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