Farmer Rescues Abandoned Infant Being Devoured By Soldier Ants On Roadside

An abandoned newborn baby, which was being devoured by predatory soldier ants, was rescued by a farmer who spotted the child on the roadside. The baby girl was immediately bought to the hospital.

Though the incident happened on Oct. 26, it was revealed to the public only Tuesday, reported Nigerian Tribune.

Joy Kwatse, a farmer from the Benue State in Nigeria, told Nigerian Tribune that she was on her way to her farm when she spotted "something" moving on the roadside. She initially assumed it was a snake but then realized the "thing" was covered in nylon paper.

“I thought it was a snake because it moved. Because I was afraid, I did not go close but decided to go to the roadside and beckoned on passersby," Kwatse told the news outlet. Though she sought the help of a man, he was too afraid to go close to it and he quickly fled, added Kwatse.

Kwatse said she eventually summoned the courage to open the nylon and saw the body of the baby girl covered with soldier ants.

"I summoned courage, clutched my scapular (Catholic rosary), and dragged it. Then I noticed that it was a child struggling for survival. She had mud all over her body even as soldier ants had eaten her head, face and buttocks," she said.

The farmer said that she took the "decaying and smelly" child to the nearby police station after which it was moved to Olive Vine Children Health Center in the city of Makurdi.

Health center medical director Julie Okoko confirmed the admission of the baby but declined to update about the child's health status. It is also not clear whether the child or her parents have been identified.

Recently, dismembered body parts of a newborn baby were found dumped in a town in Nigeria. Residents in Wudil town of Kano state reported the horrific sight of the baby's body parts dumped between some grasses and firewood. Police said they had initially located the leg of the baby and were later informed about the head. Authorities suspect it was caused by some kind of ritualistic or occult activity.