It’s a natural instinct that helps the subterranean dwellers survive quickly rising waters.
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00:005.
00:03When human cities flood, you'll often see cars and people in boats floating down the
00:07street.
00:08But when floods occur in the animal kingdom, you might see this, a raft made of ants.
00:12This video was captured in a flooded field in India.
00:15Monsoon rains brought torrents of water cascading through the area, but these red fire ants
00:19were ready with this interesting trick, escaping their anthills and gathering atop one another
00:24to increase their collective buoyancy.
00:26Vishwanath, the environmentalist who captured the video, says she was out observing wildlife
00:30when she saw the floating red mass, saying,
00:32It was the first time that I saw it.
00:34The ants turned themselves into a raft and floated to survive the sudden flood and rise
00:38in water level.
00:39Not only is this a natural instinct for the ants to survive quickly rising waters, but
00:43the insects have been known to float on these living rafts for weeks at a time without ever
00:47succumbing to the deep waters.