SCIENCE
Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers Toolkit.
Photograph by Aaron Huey, National Geographic
Discussion Ideas
- The fascinating new research reports that some packs of African wild dogs sneeze to communicate. Do other wild animals use their voices to communicate with each other?
- Yes, of course they do! The new research mentions three examples in particular, cases in which vocalizations are used to decide if a group of animals will move from a comfortable resting spot: meerkats, honeybees, and capuchin monkeys. In addition:
- Meerkat sentries send out “a soft, high-pitched call every few seconds to let their colony know they are safe from danger.” Learn more here.
- Wolves “have an extensive repertoire of sounds. Whines and whimpers indicate friendly interaction but also show frustration or anxiety. Growls and snarls are threatening or defensive. Barking is rare, usually an alarm signal. Howls seem to be about togetherness, whether the wolves are gathering for a hunt, mourning a lost pack mate, or announcing territorial or mating intentions.” Learn more here.
- Blue whale songs, pitched at far too low a frequency for humans to hear, are “likely a part of a pod’s ‘social selection,’ a process in which whales choose a mate.” Learn more here.
- Elephants, too, communicate over long distances by infrasound, which “really coordinates elephant movement.” Learn more here.
- The machine-gun song of the male brown sicklebill “advertises for females to come to his territory.” Learn more here.
- What other examples of animal vocal communication can you think of?
- Yes, of course they do! The new research mentions three examples in particular, cases in which vocalizations are used to decide if a group of animals will move from a comfortable resting spot: meerkats, honeybees, and capuchin monkeys. In addition:
- The Nat Geo article says sneezes may “count toward a quorum” among African wild dogs. What is a quorum?
- A quorum describes a collective decision—the number of members of a group (usually a majority) required to act on a decision. The U.S. Constitution, for instance, requires a quorum of 51 senators be present for the Senate to conduct business. (The quorum of the U.S. House of Representatives is also a simple majority, 218 members.)
- Among some packs of African wild dogs, sneezes may create a quorum deciding whether or not the pack should go hunting. “[T]the more sneezing at a rally, the more likely the dogs were to set out on a hunt. If one of the pack’s top dogs kicked off the rally, it took three sneezes to send the pack in pursuit of a meal, usually antelope. If a low-ranking pack member initiated the rally, it took 10 sneezes to guarantee a hunt.”
- “This is a really huge finding,” says one researcher, but not entirely conclusive. Can you think of other reasons why the African wild dogs in the study would sneeze while at a pre-hunt “rally”?
- Sneezes may be a response to other stimuli, such as unusual sounds, smells, or temperature.
- Sneezing, like yawning, can be socially “contagious,” and some dogs may have been influenced by their pack-mates’ behavior.
- A South African conservationist said she has “not seen high levels of sneezing, so perhaps sneezing is only used by Botswana dogs.”
TEACHERS TOOLKIT
Nat Geo: These Dogs Vote by Sneezing
Nat Geo: Meerkat Messages
Nat Geo: Wolf Language
Nat Geo: Giants of Sri Lanka
Nat Geo: A Natural History of the African Elephant
Nat Geo: Machine-Gun Birds
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences: Sneeze to leave: African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) use variable quorum thresholds facilitated by sneezes in collective decisions