The Saga of the Cannibal Ants in a Soviet Nuclear Bunker

I remember reading about this a while ago. Apparently the general public was so moved by the plight of the isolated sub-colony that they insisted the researchers mount a rescue effort.

These are people who, no doubt, would feel nothing of squishing any individual ant careless enough to stray into their paths.

I feel, firmly if obscurely, that this true story is somehow connected to this fictional story about how humans make pets out of anything.