Herding Sheep Really Are Selfish (1 of 2) (IMAGE)

Cell Press

Herding Sheep Really Are Selfish (1 of 2)

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Many animals spend time together in large groups not because they enjoy each other's company, but rather because it lowers their own chances of being eaten should an uninvited guest arrive on the scene -- or so the theory goes. Now, researchers who have strapped GPS-enabled backpacks to flocking sheep and a herding dog provide some of the first hard evidence that this "selfish herd theory" is true. The findings appear in the July 24 issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication.

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King et al., <i>Current Biology</i> Volume 22 Issue 14

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