Leadership also increases stress in animals

The role of leader increases stress in animals too

Keystone-SDA

Listen to the article

Listening the article

Toggle language selector

English (US)
English (British)

Generated with artificial intelligence.

A study conducted at the University of Zurich has shown that when animals make decisions for their group, their hearts beat faster.

This content was published on

July 23, 2025 – 10:22

This is particularly the case when members of the group do not agree on how to proceed or when individuals fail in their attempts to lead the group, Damien Farine, one of the researchers at the University of Zurich and author of the study, published on Tuesday in the journal Current Biology, told the Keystone-SDA news agency.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

To carry out their research, the team from the University of Zurich implanted heart rate monitors in a group of vulturine guinea fowl from East Africa. They specifically studied the direction in which the animals moved.

The guinea fowl that wanted to change direction had a faster heart rate. Those that tried to initiate a change of direction but failed showed particularly high stress symptoms.

Humans too

“This species of bird is well suited to such a study because it is logistically easy to observe,” explained Farine. What’s more, they live in large groups with complex social structures. “We assume, however, that our results are likely to apply to most species living in groups,” she added.

Cat in tree

Feline felons: The issue with Switzerland’s free-roaming cats

This content was published on

Jun 5, 2025

Cats kill millions of birds, frogs and other animals every year in Switzerland.

According to the researcher, all social animals face similar challenges: they have to make group decisions, maintain cohesion and at the same time assert their own needs, such as eating when others want to rest. This also applies to humans, according to Farine.

“We go through the same processes every day, for example when we walk with other people and make decisions – often unconsciously – about which way to go.”

Adapted from French by DeepL/ac

How we work

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools to translate them into English. A journalist then reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication.

Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team from news agencies such as Bloomberg or Keystone.

If you have any questions about how we work, write to us at english@swissinfo.ch

Articles in this story

Prince William comes to Basel for the European Championship final

Prince William will attend final of Women’s Euro 2025 in Basel

This content was published on

Jul 23, 2025

The heir to the British throne will be watching the final of the European Women’s Football Championship live in the stadium on Sunday.

Zurich Airport is ahead of Geneva and Basel in terms of security

Pilots rate Zurich airport safer than Geneva and Basel

This content was published on

Jul 23, 2025

Zurich airport took third place for safety in a comparison of 31 German and Swiss airports.

Reduced fine for Credit Suisse in currency cartel

Reduced fine for Credit Suisse in currency cartel case

This content was published on

Jul 23, 2025

The Court of Justice of the European Union has reduced the fine imposed on Credit Suisse from €83.2 million to €28.9 million, while confirming its involvement in a spot foreign exchange cartel.

International Scout Camp to be held in Switzerland in 2028

Switzerland to host Roverway European scout camp in 2028

This content was published on

Jul 23, 2025

Around 5,500 participants are expected for the gathering in 2028.

ABB to electrify one of the largest oil terminals

Swiss firm ABB to electrify one of the largest oil and gas terminals

This content was published on

Jul 23, 2025

ABB has won a major contract in Azerbaijan for the electrification and grid stability of one of the world’s largest oil and gas terminals, Sangachal.

Ribbons for travellers with invisible disabilities are in demand

Swiss railways’ ‘invisible disabilities’ lanyards prove popular

This content was published on

Jul 23, 2025

According to the Swiss Federal Railways, there is great interest in its lanyards for travellers with invisible disabilities.

Aargau police continue to search for escaped prisoner

Swiss police still hunting handcuffed escapee

This content was published on

Jul 22, 2025

A prisoner who escaped on Thursday in Baden, canton Aargau, is still on the run. The 23-year-old Albanian, who was in custody for burglary, was wearing handcuffs when he escaped.

City of Chur places information boards next to Nazi stone

Swiss city places information boards next to Nazi memorial

This content was published on

Jul 22, 2025

The city of Chur in eastern Switzerland has erected four information boards next to the Nazi memorial in the Daleu cemetery.

Weather service draws parallels to the hot summer of 2003

Swiss heat: parallels drawn with 2003 ‘summer of century’

This content was published on

Jul 22, 2025

Looking at the current weather situation in Switzerland, the private weather service MeteoNews has drawn parallels with the hot summer of 2003.

Syria: Switzerland calls for ceasefire to be respected in Sweida

Syria: Switzerland calls for ceasefire to be respected in Suweida

This content was published on

Jul 22, 2025

Switzerland has condemned the attacks on civilians in the southern Syrian town of Suweida and has called on all parties to respect the ceasefire in the Druze stronghold.

Leadership also increases stress in animals

Tags: