Pour les animaux qui vivent en
groupe, la survie passe par la prise de décisions. Et pour y parvenir, ils s’entendent de façon démocratique !

The animal kingdom is more progressive than you might think: A recent study by French ecologists has found that European bison vote democratically and favor female leaders.

About 32,000 years ago, a Stone Age artist was dabbing paint on a cave wall in what is now France, fashioning a bison out of pigment and imagination. Now, scientists are studying the descendants of that bison — and discovering they're among the most democratic ungulates around.

Turns out, it’s true. Just like our democratic process established in the Constitution, bison also make decisions via popular opinion. They do forego the whole electoral college process, though.

Every few years Americans in major cities elect a mayor. The process is relatively straightforward: we vote, and the candidate who carries the majority wins. The same goes for certain bovines.

Americans aren't the only ones who will be casting their votes in 2016; in the animal kingdom, it turns out European bison also use majority rule to make decisions.

[...] Comme d’autres mammifères, les bisons d’Europe forment des sociétés de fission-fusion, caractérisées par des associations instables entre les individus. En effet, les bisons n’ont pas de leader mais lorsqu’ils se déplacent, tous vont dans la même direction. Comment se coordonnent-ils ?

Every few years Americans in major cities elect a mayor. The process is relatively straightforward: we vote, and the candidate who carries the majority wins. The same goes for certain bovines.

Standing 2 meters tall and weighing as much as 1000 kilograms, European bison (Bison bonasus) are impressive animals. These cousins of the American bison—nearly driven to extinction in the last century—are being reintroduced in small herds across Europe, leading some farmers and forest managers to worry that the large herbivores will destroy their habitat. 

Standing 2 meters tall and weighing as much as 1000 kilograms, European bison (Bison bonasus) are impressive animals. These cousins of the American bison—nearly driven to extinction in the last century—are being reintroduced in small herds across Europe, leading some farmers and forest managers to worry that the large herbivores will destroy their habitat. 

Standing 2 meters tall and weighing as much as 1000 kilograms, European bison (Bison bonasus) are impressive animals. These cousins of the American bison—nearly driven to extinction in the last century—are being reintroduced in small herds across Europe, leading some farmers and forest managers to worry that the large herbivores will destroy their habitat.