Scientists discovered hidden mega-city after pouring tonnes of cement into abandoned ant hill

Animals are often capable of far more than we give them credit for and a scientific discovery at an abandoned ant hill emphasised exactly that.

While humanity seems more focused on using AI for all of its tasks, the animal kingdom has no such luxuries, and you don't need to tune into a David Attenborough documentary to understand some of the incredible things they get up to.

We've probably some of the adorable things that dogs can learn at the annual Crufts show in the past couple of days, and understandably people are less willing to listen when it comes to animals that aren't cute and fluffy.

But in a world obsessed with protein powder and gym trips, you'd think we'd all be a bit more impressed with ants, considering they can carry objects that weigh as much as 50 times their own body weight.

And that's exactly how a colony of ants in Brazil managed to build themselves a mega-city, which scientists described as the ant's own version of the Great Wall of China.

Back in 2012, as part of the documentary Ants! Nature’s Secret Power, scientists poured 10 tonnes of cement into an abandoned ant hill before discovering an incredible city that made the housing in A Bug's Life look like s**t.

Things were pretty crazy down there (ORF Enterprise)

The experiment ended up lasting three days, with scientists careful not to disrupt the giant city which had been created, as it measured in at a massive 50 square metres in size, stretching down eight metres underground, with all the structures connecting by a series of tunnels, as well as chambers with rooms for different purposes.

I wonder if they had a gym or an 'underground' night club down there?

You might think I'm joking there but they did in fact have side roads for ants who don't like slow walkers on their way to work, with 'the collective will of the ant colony' coming together to build the sort of city that everyone can enjoy.

Maybe we have a lot to learn from the ants, although they were doing all this hard work without getting paid, and it's difficult to think of anyone in the world of construction that would follow suit.

Considering the sheer size and style of the ant hill, you might be wondering why the colony of ants decided to abandon it.

ORF Enterprise

Well, the most common reasons for a colony of ants to skedaddle from their carefully constructed mega-city is the danger posed either by predators or damaging disasters.

Anthills can be invaded by other ants or creatures that want to break in and feed on the insects larvae, while weather conditions can risk flooding the nest and rendering it unsafe.

If people mess with anthills the colony of insects inside can also get the message that they're not in a safe location, resulting in them upping sticks and moving.

Let's hope they managed to build themselves another ant hill that was just as nice.