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How Baboons Vote
Americans may be heading to the polls this November, but it turns out humans aren’t the only animals that live by majority rule. Researchers at the University of California-Davis recently discovered that baboons vote too. Anthropologist Meg Crofoot followed a troop of baboons in Kenya as they were scouting for food. Tracking their movements with collars, Crofoot found that groups would form if the baboons disagreed on which direction to go. As in any democracy, the group with the majority—even if it was one more follower than the opposing group had—would “win” and decide on the direction all the baboons would take. The undecided baboons would then accept the majority decision and go along. But like humans, baboons don’t vote on every issue. Says Crofoot: “My favorite part was watching them squabble about where they were going to sleep.”