Neil Jordan

Though humans like to think of themselves as the only creatures on Earth who vote on what to do, they aren’t. Many social animals engage in consensus-seeking behavior, from meerkats to honeybees to capuchin monkeys. In these species and more, members of the group weigh in about what their next move should be.

Now, a new study of African wild dogs in Botswana adds another animal to the voting pool. It turns out that these endangered, undomesticated dogs “vote” on whether to start hunting by making noises that sound just like sneezes.