The Risks of Following the Herd, and Banded Mongooses

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A podcast from the Planet Earth Online collection and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). Have you ever noticed that when you cross a busy road, as well as clocking the traffic, you subconsciously follow what your neighbours do?

Scientists have recently put a figure on this and worked out that people are 2.5 times more likely to cross if their immediate neighbour makes a move to cross.

Richard Hollingham goes to Leeds to meet the researcher behind the study to find out why we have these tendencies, and how the research helps us understand shoaling, herding and flocking behaviour.

Later on, the reporter gets up close and personal with banded mongooses in Uganda where the researchers studying them explain why all females give birth at the same time.

This podcast is dated 12 October 2010.

NERC is one of the research councils in the Research Councils UK (RCUK) partnership.

URL: http://stem.org.uk/rx6mw

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