African wild dogs use sneezing to vote on whether the pack should start a hunt.

This remarkable discovery was published in 2017 in the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society B' by researchers from the University of New South Wales and other institutions. The study focused on Lycaon pictus, commonly known as the African wild dog, in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Scientists recorded 68 social rallies across five different packs to analyze the decision-making process.The researchers found that sneezing functions as a quorum-building mechanism rather than a simple physical reaction to dust. This behavior allows the pack to reach a collective agreement on when to stop resting and start hunting. The study revealed a fascinating social hierarchy in their democracy. While every dog has a voice, the 'weight' of the vote depends on the individual's status within the group.When the dominant male and female are in favor of a hunt, the threshold for a collective decision is significantly lower. In these cases, as few as three sneezes from the group can trigger the departure. If a subordinate dog wants to lead a hunt, they must rally much more support, requiring at least ten sneezes from other members to convince the pack to move. This represents one of the few documented cases of a non-primate species using a specific vocalization for democratic consensus.