Monkey Majority

On November 8, Americans will cast their ballots for the 45th president of the United States. That’s because the U.S. is a democracy—a place where people choose their leaders by voting. 

Humans hold the only presidential elections. But we aren’t the only species to decide things democratically. Many animals do too! From baboons to buffalo, scientists are finding examples of democracy across the animal kingdom (see Voting Gone Wild). “The question is, how do animals make decisions without being able to talk?” says Meg Crofoot.

Crofoot is an anthropologist at the University of California in Davis. She studies humans and their ancestors. And she recently found out how African monkeys called olive baboons “vote.”

On November 8, Americans will vote for the next president of the United States. The U.S. is a democracy. That’s a place where people choose their leaders by voting. 

Only humans elect presidents. But other animals can decide things democratically too! Scientists are finding examples across the animal kingdom (see Voting Gone Wild). “The question is, how do animals make decisions without being able to talk?” says Meg Crofoot. 

Crofoot is an anthropologist. (an-thruh-PALL-uh-jist). She studies humans and their ancestors. She works at the University of California in Davis. Crofoot recently studied African monkeys called olive baboons. She found out how they “vote.”

Baboons live in tight-knit social groups called troops. To watch the monkeys make decisions, Crofoot followed a single troop in Kenya as they traveled in search of food. 

Crofoot fitted every baboon in the troop with a tracking collar. The collars recorded the exact location of each baboon as the troop moved. When she analyzed the data, Crofoot noticed something intriguing.

The trackers showed that different baboons led the group around. But sometimes two leaders disagreed on where to go next. Each one would start walking in the direction it wanted the troop to travel.

If the difference was small, the troop compromised and took a middle path. But if the difference was larger, the troop put it to a vote. Each baboon walked over to the leader it agreed with. The direction with the most supporters won—even if that group had only one more baboon than the other! “There’s a strong majority rule,” says Crofoot.

Baboons live in groups in the wild. These groups are called troops. Crofoot wanted to watch a troop make decisions. She followed monkeys in Kenya as they traveled to find food. 

Crofoot put a collar on each baboon in the troop. The collars tracked exactly where each baboon moved. Crofoot collected the data on her computer. She noticed an interesting pattern.

Different baboons led the group around. But sometimes two leaders disagreed on where to go. Each leader started walking the way it wanted to travel. Would the troop follow?

The troop needed to stick together. That meant making a group decision. If the two leaders were close together, the troop compromised. They all took a path down the middle. But what if the leaders were farther apart? That’s when the troop had to vote. 

To vote, each baboon walked over to the leader it agreed with. The side with the most votes won. The whole troop went that way. Sometimes a side won by only one vote! “There’s a strong majority rule,” says Crofoot.

Why study democracy in the animal kingdom? Because it can teach us about humans too, says Crofoot. Animals have to resolve disagreements without spoken language. Learning how animals communicate with body language can help anthropologists understand how our own social systems arose.

But much like humans, baboons don’t put every decision to a vote, says Crofoot. The monkeys may be democratic when they’re making travel plans, but not when they’re deciding who gets the most comfy spot in a tree. “My favorite part was watching the baboons squabble about where they were going to sleep!” says Crofoot.

Why does Crofoot study democracy in animals? It can teach us about humans too, she says. Animals can’t speak to each other the way we do. They use body language to resolve disagreements. People can use body movements to communicate too. Crofoot wants to understand how our behavior is similar.

People don’t put every decision to a vote. Neither do baboons, says Crofoot. The monkeys may vote on travel plans. But they still argue over who gets the best spot in a tree. “My favorite part was watching the baboons squabble about where they were going to sleep!” says Crofoot.