Voting in the Wild

Number or Amount?

Use number when the noun you refer to is countable (friends, cupcakes, days until your birthday). Use amount when referring to something that cannot be counted (snow, sugar, laughter).

What if instead of voting with ballots, we had a big dance party? That’s what bees do!

Here’s how it works: When the number/amount of bees in a hive gets too big, the group has to split in two. Some bees stay behind in the hive. The rest need a new home.

A few scouts fly off to look for a good spot. When a scout finds one, it returns to the group and performs a “waggle dance.” The bee shakes and moves in the shape of a figure eight to convince other scout bees to check out the site. (The more the scout likes the site, the greater the number/amount of times it repeats the dance.) If the other scouts like the spot too, they join in the same waggle dance, as a way of casting their votes. When the majority of scouts are doing the same dance, the group relocates.

Meerkats know how to work together. These squirrel-sized animals from southern Africa spend a large number/amount of time grooming each other, playing together, and defending each other from predators.

Meerkats live in packs of about 50. If one meerkat wants to look for food in a particular area, it alerts the others with a yelp. If two or more meerkats respond with the same yelp, the pack moves.

If not? Everyone stays put.

In the animal kingdom, the male with the greatest number/amount of strength often serves as the leader of a group. But this is not true for cape buffalo, which can be found in South Africa.

In a cape buffalo herd, a female is in charge. When it comes to travel plans, she calls a vote. First she stares in the direction she wants to go. If enough others gaze in that direction too, the herd moves. If the number/amount of “votes” is split between two directions, the herd separates. Eventually, the buffalo meet back up.