How Do Animals Vote? Podcast By cover art

How Do Animals Vote?

How Do Animals Vote?

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They may not go into polling booths and come out with an ‘I Voted’ sticker. But most animals that live in groups have developed ways to make collective decisions and act together for the good of one and all. English rock ants are always scouting for a new nest. When a few individuals find the same new spot, they seem to agree that this real estate has potential. So they go back to the current nest to try to lead other ants over, one by one. If they can persuade enough to follow, they’ll hit a critical mass at the new place, and the decision is made: this is now home. The ants don’t wait for others to share their opinion. They go back to the old nest, pick up the stragglers, and carry them over. Meerkats depend on the group for survival, so maintaining social cohesion is vital. Each morning, they go out foraging for bugs and plants in a widely spaced mob. When one of them has completely explored its own small area, it will call out to the others. Once three meerkats vote for a move in this way, the group will set out together for the next place. Roving baboons, like us, are more political animals. When two or more set off in different directions, the troop will choose a path that’s halfway between them. The fringe elements will eventually drift back to join the middle; they may not have gotten exactly what they wanted, but they can be satisfied they had a say in the group’s decision. Examples of consensus, communication, and compromise that perhaps we humans can learn something from.
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