American Politics and the African Wild Dogs of Botswana

American-style politics have a lot in common with how African wild dogs packs in Botswana make collective decisions. Evolution has left a narrow gap between how Homo sapiens and Lycaon pictus make "democratic" decisions. The dog packs vote, propositions put forth by leaders are more successful than those offered by lower-ranking members, and there is a protocol to collectively decide when and how to take actions that affect the community.

Let's Hunt

A greeting ceremony, literally called a rally, assembles a congress that will make a group decision. A dog proposes to initiate a hunt by arising from rest with head lowered, mouth open, and ears folded back, then awaits a group consensus. If a dominant dog initiates the rally the chances of collective action are greatly increased but can be overridden by the lower members of the congress. A threshold of "ayes" (a quorum) is required to execute the proposed action. Each affirmative vote is expressed by sudden bursts of air expelled from the nostrils.

The Congress

The decision to act depends on the group's perception of the urgency of hunting compared to the attraction of continuing to enjoy the comfort of the status quo. An initial rally only succeeds about one-quarter of the time. A second attempt at a rally succeeds about half the time. A third attempt succeeds about two-thirds of the time. This suggests the urgency of the proposed action (hunger?) has a strong effect on the decision.

Dominant individuals in the pack have a disproportionate influence on group decisions. When a dominant dog initiates a rally, three votes of approval is, on average, enough to launch a hunt. When a low-ranked dog initiates a rally, launching a hunt takes ten votes on average and therefore is more likely to fail.

Dominance in African wild dog packs is rarely achieved by aggression. African wild dogs achieve a dominance ranking according to a breeding pair's contribution to ensuring the survival of the pack.  Dominance is evidenced by the priority a dog has to access a carcass.

There is little understanding of why votes are cast by expelling air through the nostrils but one of two theories, or a combination of, may explain: the sneeze-like sound may simply be a way of communicating approval of the action, or the dogs may be clearing their nostrils knowing that whatever action is proposed, the olfactory sense and clear air passages will be needed.

Resting Pack

A combination of the two theories is likely. The sneeze may act as a call to order initiating the process of recruiting other dogs for the hunt. The action is voted upon. A group decision is approved or declined in about four minutes on average. Either the pack returns to rest or the group (or a subgroup) departs, most often lead by a dominant member or members.

The similarities between the American political process and that of the African wild dogs of Botswana are clear. However, American politicians lack one behavior prevalent among the African wild dog: as described by author Paul Janssen: "... the remarkable aspect of their hunting is the complete lack of aggression toward each other. Wild dogs have a social hierarchy but unlike many other social animals, there is little obvious intimidation." Take note, politicians.