Animals

Abstract

This section introduces important animals that are not regarded as causing fairy circles. It is rather assumed that they take advantage of resources and structures provided by fairy circles. Some of them directly use the Sand termites as a food resource (e.g. Aardvark), others occupy various positions within food webs at fairy circles (e.g. Seothyra spiders feeding on Tetramorium ants which forage on Psammotermes). Others seem to simply make use of the soil moisture offered underneath the fairy circles bare patch (e.g. the ant Carebara kunenesis). Namibian mountain zebra often use the open areas of the bare patch for dust bathing by rolling. Ostrich may also use fairy circles for dust bathing and sometimes establish nests inside.