Choosing One’s Leaders



Three spined stickleback, Photo Credit - Wikipedia



Only eight hours remain until the voting booths closed in Michigan. For the past two months, I have been inundated with robo-calls, clear-cut forests of flyers that immediately get dropped into the recycling bin, the noise of shrill, bickering Republican and Democratic pundits and ugly television advertising.

The acrimony and viciousness of this presidential campaigning cycle got me to wondering how other animals determine their leaders.  Do they behave as badly as we do? After doing a little research I found three distinct processes. No doubt that there are countless more but what I found was enlightening.

I started with wolves; those social pack carnivores that live the forests of the upper Midwest. Within every pack of wolves are the alpha male and female who are more aggressive and stronger than the other members of their pack. Only the alpha male and female mate ensuring that their genetic composition carries on to the next leadership generation. Subordinate wolves normally do not mate and those that do are driven out of their community. I see this as a monarchical leadership process that is determine by genetic lineage much like the royal families in Europe.

Then we have the cow. Domination or size doesn’t seem to be the qualifications for leadership. Research has shown that deference is given to the oldest cow in the herd who leads the others to feeding sites. So experience rather than size or lineage is the criteria in the cow population.

Finally, there are the stickleback fish. The stickleback is more of a trial and error species who allows its population to individually choose its leadership. Some sticklebacks will make the correct decision immediately while others follow another path. The remaining fish will observe the decision making process and when it is apparent that the majority of sticklefish go in one direction, the others will follow. We’re talking about consensus building at its best.

So, what does that tell me about leadership and animals? I have little doubt that fighting and dominance occurs within all animal populations and even the old cow will be challenged eventually by a younger animal. But we are supposed to be the intelligent animal on this planet. Why do we stoop to the lowest common denominator rather than recognize that there are two sides on every issue and the candidate you disagree with isn’t the child of Satan? I am tired of the extremism that has colored the political landscape and prevents our leaders from making decisions for the good of all. Don’t we deserve better?