# Chimpanzees, monkeys and cockroaches: Animals also vote and their choices can be manipulated

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/chimpanzees-monkeys-and-cockroaches-animals-also-vote-and-their-choices-can-be-manipulated/
- Published: 2026-11-14T04:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-14T05:23:08+00:00
- Original publisher: El País (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2026-11-14/chimpanzees-monkeys-and-cockroaches-animals-also-vote-and-their-choices-can-be-manipulated.html
- Topics: Elections, Politics, World

## Key points

- Chimpanzee calls can prolong group rest.
- A minority of robots shifted cockroaches’ shelter choice.
- Monkeys use separate signals to decide where and when to move.

## Summary

Social animals need ways to coordinate choices, from where to travel to where to rest. Studies of chimpanzees, cockroaches and golden snub-nosed monkeys show how calls, social contact and simple signals can shape group decisions, and how those choices can sometimes be influenced.

In Uganda, chimpanzees rested longer when companions gave “rest hoo” calls, particularly when the caller was a frequent companion. Experiments in 2007 found that pheromone-treated robots could lead cockroaches to choose a brighter shelter, despite being outnumbered. A study of monkeys in China found they vote on where to go by facing a direction, then on when to leave by moving away; successful proposals usually needed at least four votes, while three followers made departure much more likely.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.