
Swansea Uni study: African wild dogs 'sneeze to vote' (2017) - Turukawa
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-41161664
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bglazer
I had the thought that perhaps there's some sort of voting in flocks of
migrating birds. I had this idea while listening to a flock of starlings make
a tremendous amount of noise. It seems like a waste of precious calories to
chirp and squawk so much, so surely there's some function to all the
vocalizations. Listening closely, I found they were making only a few
different varieties of calls. Perhaps they're saying something akin to "go
left" or "go right"?

Given the extreme distances that some birds travel, it seems unlikely that
each bird remembers the exact route, but maybe every bird remembers separate
fragments. As a flock, they have a distributed memory of the whole migration
path. They then vote on the best path by calling out constantly.

I looked a bit at the research, and it seems that they're probably using the
sun/moon or magnetic fields to navigate. It's still a fun thought though.

I still wonder what's the purpose of the constant calling?

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moftz
Maybe it's like twitch plays pokemon. Everyone kind of knows how to play but
everyone is saying something a bit different until groups form that start to
dictate the path. Everyone shouting directions might sound like noise but all
it takes is a small minority to rise above the noise floor to convince
everyone to follow.

~~~
nwsm
[https://unanimous.ai/what-is-si/](https://unanimous.ai/what-is-si/)

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SaintGhurka
I've had 5 dogs over 45 years. All of them Shetland Sheepdogs. As long as I
can remember, they have all tended to sneeze when they get excited about going
outside.

If they detect I'm about to go out, they start campaigning to go with by
jumping around in front of me while I'm walking around gathering up my shoes
or whatever, showing a lot of excitement. It frequently culminates in one or
two sneezes.

I have started to suspect that it means something.

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X6S1x6Okd1st
I've noticed this too with my two dogs. They sneeze to each other when they
think me or my partner is close to taking them out

~~~
moftz
I've noticed my dogs doing it too but they only do it in the morning when my
alarm goes off. I get up and let them out followed by breakfast for them.
Every other time during the day they get let out, there is no real trigger.

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beaconstudios
somewhat related: if you've ever been playing with a dog (of the pet variety,
not the wild variety hopefully) and they've sneezed, that's a social signal to
show that the wrestling/fighting is playful and not malicious to prevent
escalation.

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Cactus2018
"BBC Earth" "The Hunt" Season 1, Episode 1, "The Hardest Challenge" has
phenomenal footage of African Wild Dog pack hunting. Available on BBC and
Netflix

[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p036mymm](https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p036mymm)

~~~
Cactus2018
BBC America link - [http://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/the-
hunt/season-1/episode-01...](http://www.bbcamerica.com/shows/the-
hunt/season-1/episode-01-the-hardest-challenge)

Netflix link -
[https://www.netflix.com/title/80097726](https://www.netflix.com/title/80097726)

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pledess
One question is whether the stress of decision making originally contributed
to a weakened immune system and more general respiratory issues, not
exclusively sneezing. In other words, did the process begin as "rough
consensus and a runny nose"?

~~~
jmmcd
What a set-up!

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gerbilly
Next time you are on a plane, see how many people sneeze just after the plane
lands.

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emiliobumachar
Next steps in research: causing a pack to move by causing pack members to
sneeze.

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emiliobumachar
I wonder if flu or cold epidemics cause strategic damage as well as regular
damage to packs, by making them sneeze en mass and mistake it for group
consensus.

~~~
fifnir
I strongly suspect that the sneezing goes with a whole package of body
language, you won't send the dogs hunting by hidding a recording of sneezes in
the bush nearby

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markab21
I've noticed my dog (black lab) doing similar behavior consistently in the
mornings, also after she had her breakfast. She'll walk away from the kitchen
and her dog bowl with her tail wagging and doing some kind of sneezing
sniffing-sound, also when we come home from being out of the house she'll do
it too.

It's cute as hell.

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berdon
One of our shih-tzu's will sneeze/snort when he hears about something that he
wants. Treat, outside, walk, etc.

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failrate
I have some kind of terrier. She rarely barks. When any other dog would bark,
she usually sneezes or snorts. So, for example, when it is time for her walk,
she will snort at me and then run to the door.

~~~
maxxxxx
Mine sneeze when they are really excited.

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1_over_n
original paper here

[https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2017...](https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rspb.2017.0347)

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andereya
So there's democracy in the animal kingdom

~~~
cygx
But some animals are more equal than others.

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pts_
Is it a snort or a sneeze? I didn't know any being could sneeze of their own.

