Gian meat ant meant to attract tourists

First it was the Big Pineapple in south-east Queensland, now a giant Australian meat ant is to be installed at Augathella, north-east of Charleville in the state's south-west.

The Murweh Shire Council commissioned an artist to build a meat ant for a $250,000 tourist park being established at the outback town.

The giant ant is due to be put in place today and council CEO Chris Blanche says it is hoped it will attract thousands of tourists.

"It's about five-metres long, crawling down a branch which will actually be a very big bridge pylon," he said.

"It just looks terrific and it will be the only one in the world.

"We'll be able to join the other icons - the Big Pineapple [on Queensland's Sunshine Coast] and the Big Banana [in northern New South Wales].

"People laugh and that but they are known and we would like to get Augathella really on the map."

Mr Blanche says the ant's connection with Augathella goes back several decades to a local football team.

"The teams did have a reputation for being very tough on the football field," he said.

"The story, as I understand it, is one of the locals said, 'they're as tough as meat ants' and from there, that became the mascot for the team.

"The meat ants themselves, they are a pretty tough creature.

"They are probably one of the only known natural enemies of the cane toad."

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