We humans have always been told that we are social animals. But are we the only ones? Are there other animals that form complex groups to survive?
In this article on our site, we invite you to learn about those animals that have learned to live in society: the gregarious animals.
What are herd animals?
We can define animal sociability as a spectrum between two extremes: on the one hand, that of solitary animals, which only meet each other to mate, and that of fully social animals (eusocial), who put their lives at the service of the collective, as is the case of bees or ants.
Gregarism is a behavior that implies the union of animals of the same species, whether family or not, to live in groups in the same space, sharing social relationships.
Characteristics of gregarious animals
It is often argued that the trait of sociability appeared in animal evolutionary history to encourage survival. Herding has many evolutionary advantages, and we'll explain the most important ones below:
- Better feed: Herd animals can get higher quality feed for various reasons. They may hunt in packs, like wolves (Canis lupus), in which case they could get larger prey than if they hunted alone. It is also possible for a member of a group to inform the others of where to find food.
- Caring for the young: some gregarious animals, when the reproductive season arrives, share the tasks. Thus, some are in charge of looking for food, others defend the territory and others are in charge of caring for the new offspring. This behavior is common in the golden jackal (Canis aureus), for example. In this species, males and females form strictly monogamous pairs, and the males of their offspring stay in the family territory to help the pair, once they reach sexual maturity. Something similar happens with elephants: the females are grouped in herds that the males leave when they reach sexual maturity. But within these groups of elephants, both mothers and grandmothers take care of the young.
- Defense against predators: gregarious animals are more likely to survive predator attacks, due to the following reasons: on the one hand, the more members of the group are attentive to the presence of predators, the easier it will be to flee from them. In other cases, since there is strength in unity, animals can defend themselves as a group against attackers; and finally, a selfish but logical reasoning: the more members the group has, the less likely it is that the prey is oneself.
- Protection against adverse environmental conditions: In situations of extreme cold, some species, such as penguins, walk en masse to protect themselves to others. It is also possible that the better nutrition provided by gregariousness gives many animals more energy to withstand the cold. Some studies show that, in certain primates, the company of their conspecifics reduces their stress levels, which, in turn, allows them to maintain physical fitness, which is essential when facing adverse climates.
On the other hand, you may be interested in this other article on our site with The 10 loneliest animals in the world.
Types of gregarious animals
The gregarious animals can be distributed in different categories depending on the criteria we use to classify them. If we look, for example, at the reason why they share their space with their conspecifics, we can divide them into two types:
- Really social animals: on the one hand, we find properly social animals, which stick together because they maintain true social relationships with each other and move in a group.
- Animals that coincide in a space: on the other hand, it may also be the case that certain animals coexist due to the location of the resources, that is, they coincide in the same space because that is where the resources that these animals need to survive are found, not because there are solid social relationships between them.
It should be mentioned that it is not common to find gregarious animals among the members of the herpetofauna (amphibians and reptiles), with specific exceptions, such as green iguanas (Iguana iguana).
Examples of gregarious animals
Next, we will see some examples of gregarious animals:
Bees (family Apidae)
Bees are highly sociable insects that congregate in colonies organized into three social classes: the worker bees, the male drones and the Queen bee. Each of these castes has its function:
- Worker Bees: Worker bees, which make up the vast majority of bees in the hive, are infertile females, tasked with cleaning and defend the hive, build the panels, provide food to the rest of the swarm and store said food.
- Drones: The drones are responsible for fertilizing the queen bee.
- Queen Bee: is the only sexually developed female. She is responsible for reproducing, giving rise to the new generation of bees, by parthenogenesis. To do this, she lays fertilized eggs from which worker bees will hatch, and unfertilized eggs that will give rise to new drones.
The objective of the bee colony is its self-maintenance and the reproduction of the queen bee.
Ants (family Formicidae)
Ants form anthills organized into three castes: worker ants (generally sterile females), soldier ants (frequently sterile males), males fertile and one or more fertile queens. This hierarchical structure can vary, since some diversifications can occur: for example, there are species that do not have queens, in which case some fertile workers are in charge of the reproduction. Like bees, ants cooperate and communicate to work together and in an organized way for the good of the colony.
Mole rats (Heterocephalus glaber)
The hairless mole rat is a well-known eusocial mammal: like ants and bees, it distributed intocastes, one of which is specialized in reproduction, while the rest are sterile. There is a queen and some males, whose function is to mate with the queen, while the other sterile members dig the common tunnels in which the colony lives, search for food, care for the queen and her offspring, and defend the tunnels from possible attacks. predators.
Wolves (Canis lupus)
Despite the “lone wolf” stereotype, wolves are highly social animals. They live in organized herds with a clear social hierarchy, led by the breeding pair (whose members are popularly known as alpha male and alpha female). This pair enjoys a high social status: they are responsible for resolving fights in the pack, distribute food and maintain the cohesion of the pack. When a wolf leaves the pack, it does not do so to go in search of that solitude traditionally associated with this animal; he does this to find a mate, establish new territory, and create his own pack.
Ñúes (genus Connochaetes)
Both the black wildebeest (Connochaetes gnou) and the blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) are highly social African bovids. They are divided into two differentiated groups: on the one hand, the females and their offspring get together. On the other hand, the males form their own herd. Even so, these small groups tend to share space with each other, as well as with other African ungulates such as zebras or gazelles, with which they cooperate to locate predators and flee from them.
In this other article we discover more Animals of Africa.
European bee-eater (Merops apiaster)
The colorful European bee-eater is a gregarious coriaceous bird. It nests in holes it creates in the walls of slopes near rivers and lakes. A flock of bee-eaters usually nest together, so it is normal for a bee-eater's nest to be accompanied by many others belonging to its conspecifics.
Flamingos (Phoenicopterus)
None of the different species of flamingo is particularly solitary. They tend to be highly social, forming large groups that move together. During the breeding season, the colony finds a specific place to lay eggs, incubate them and raise the chicks.
Have you ever wondered why flamingos have that striking color? In this other article on our site we explain why flamingos are pink?
Golden minnow (Notemigonus crysoleucas)
Golden minnow is a type of fish that, like many others, aggregates with other members of the same species in schools that swim in the same direction. It is common that, during migrations, the bank is led by some of the most experienced individuals
Gorillas (genus Gorilla)
Other animals that live in groups are gorillas. Gorillas form large groups consisting mainly of females and young males, and led by an adult male, the “silverback”, who decides when the herd should move, it helps resolve conflicts, and is the main defender of the group against predators. Gorillas communicate with each other through sounds and visual cues, and have a rich language, with several different vocalizations. Like other primates, they learn by imitation and are very affectionate with each other. There have been several cases of mourning among gorillas when a family member or acquaintance dies.
Sooty dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obscurus)
This striking dolphin, like most of the Delphinidae family, is a highly social animal Members of this species are organized into loose groups, called “herds” or “schools” of dolphins, which can range from 2 members to hundreds of individuals.
Large schools of dolphins are often formed with a common goal, be it feeding, moving, or socializing, but often these large Herds are made up of small groups of long-term associated individuals.
You may also be interested in this other article about 10 curiosities about dolphins.
Other gregarious animals
Among the animals that live in herds, the following also stand out:
- Elephants.
- Golden Jackals.
- Green Iguanas.
- Giraffes.
- Rabbits.
- Lions.
- Zebras.
- Sheep.
- Antelopes.
- Horses.
- Bonobos.
- Deer.
- Guinea Pigs.
- Gerbils.
- Rats.
- Parakeets.
- Ferrets.
- Tatabras.
- Coaties.
- Capybaras.
- Boars.
- Killer whales.
- Hyenas.
- Lemurs.
- Meerkats.