(This posting includes a handout LINK AT THE END OF THIS POST which you are welcome to use with your students.) *

In Kenya, there was a type of tree called acacia trees which had a special relationship with a type of native ant. The trees helped the ants by providing food and a home for them. And similarly, the ants helped the trees by stopping animals, for example, elephants, from eating them. Whenever an elephant started to eat the leaves of a tree, these ants would rush up inside their trunks and bite them. Therefore, the elephants avoided trying to eat those leaves, and as a result, the grasslands continued to be covered with those acacia trees.

Unfortunately, this story does not have a happy ending for the ants and trees. (See complete article below.) 

For background information about these articles and for suggestions for how to use them with your students, see  • Introducing “Short, High-Interest Readings”  Also, I’ll be adding more of these articles in the right-hand column: ESL Reading> Short, High Interest Articles for Extensive Readings

Here is the 10th article. You can download the article for your students by clicking on the link at the end. Also included are three optional exercises: True-False Questions; Paraphrasing Exercise; Reflection Exercise.

                                   Ants Who Stop Elephants and Help Lions

In Kenya, there was a type of tree called acacia trees which had a special relationship with a type of native ant. The trees helped the ants by providing food and a home for them. And similarly, the ants helped the trees by stopping animals, for example, elephants, from eating them. Whenever an elephant started to eat the leaves of a tree, these ants would rush up inside their trunks and bite them. Therefore, the elephants avoided trying to eat those leaves, and as a result, the grasslands continued to be covered with those acacia trees.

Unfortunately, this story does not have a happy ending for the ants and trees.

About 20 years ago, a new ant, called a big-head ant, started to move into this area and began to kill the native ants. Therefore, there were no long any native ants to protect the acacia trees. Soon the elephants began eating the leaves, and on top of that, they pulled down branches and knocked the trees over.  As a result of this, the area was no longer covered with trees, but instead, it was open grassland. In fact, about 75% of the trees in this area were destroyed. 

All this had a negative effect on the lions in this area.

The favorite food of lions in this area were zebras. In order to catch zebras, lions needed to hide until the zebras were near them. Those acacia trees were the perfect hiding places. However, after the elephants destroyed most of those trees, it meant that the zebras could easily see the lions from a distance and run away if they got too close.

We might have expected the lions to starve because they lost their favorite food, the zebras. Nevertheless, they remained health because they changed their diet. Now they eat a lot more buffalos.

Interestingly, studies have found that elephants are not only afraid of ants. if they hear buzzing of bees around a tree, they will run away.

Here is the link to the article and exercises that you can use with your students: Ants and elephants ARTICLE AND EXERCISES

David Kehe
Faculty Emeritus

About the free-download materials. During my 40 years of teaching ESL, I have had many colleagues who were very generous with their time, advice and materials. These downloads are my way of paying it forward.