Whistling Thorn Acacia Hosts the Protective Cocktail Ants on the Serengeti-Tanzania
The whistling thorn acacia protects itself with 3 inch thorns interspersed with stipular spines, with a hollow bulbous swellings at the base. Stinging cocktail ants pierce these swollen thorns with tiny holes. When the wind blows it turns old and abandoned spines into tiny whistling flutes, which gives the tree its name. The ants protect the tree by swarming out of their nests and attacking an intruder at the smallest movement. This keeps giraffe and other browsers away from the tree. By shaking the branches, the ants massed.
