African wild dogs seem to be exercising more political freedom than most of the continent’s countries — all with the democratic power of a sneeze. A study published Wednesday in The Royal Society Publishing suggests the dogs vote with a sneeze to establish when to hunt.
While analyzing five dog packs in Botswana, researchers determined higher-ranking dogs who introduced a vote required less sneezes than votes initiated by plebeian pooches.
Still, the voting may not be as free and fair as these “democracy” loving dogs would hope.
Via NPR:
Unlike our own voting — in its ideal form, at least — each dog is not limited to one vote. “And the scientists don’t know if it is voluntary or something that just happens, like a sneeze. So they can’t say it’s a true vote.”
Still, it demonstrates a pack of wild dogs — which operates an “otherwise despotically driven social system,” researchers say — has at least a strain of democracy in its processes. While the dominant members may hold considerable authority, the study shows that authority is not absolute: Their underlings have a say in certain decisions, sometimes even determining them if they can cobble enough sneezes between them.