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Inside the mound

Nigerian termites build huge mounds in which they store wood to eat and cultivate a fungus that grows on their droppings. The queen termite lays a thousand eggs a day and there are 1.5 million termites living here and generating a lot of heat. David Attenborough climbs into the base of the mound to talk about temperature control. Shafts go down to the water table and water evaporates from vanes of mud to cool the air which is then circulated round the colony.

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6 minutes

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