During the construction of our newly positioned machaan at the end of the Maidan I heard the sound of scratching in the nearby grass. Initially I thought it was the rope being used by our construction team to tie the roof as the rope was being dragged through the grass. However, as I drew nearer I found a completely different cause of this rustling sound. There was foul play afoot. . . . . .
Alone Cricket was desperately trying to defend itself from a small mob of ferocious red Weaver Ants to survive another day. There were 3-4 ants which continuously bit the cricket from all sides, and were observedtrying to drag it within a recently sewn up mass of leaves to provide them a good meal. The poor Cricket tried valiantly to fight them off, but all its efforts were in vain. I watched as the Weaver Ants slowly squeezed the cricket through the hole in the leaves, and them they all disappeared from view. Such is Nature.
Sachin Sharma
Naturalist
Singinawa Jungle Lodge
