Three Brothers and a Quorum: teacher key

African Wild Dogs, grade 11 edition, written for 11th grade. A sneeze study suggests wild dog packs vote on when to hunt, and collar studies show how far single dogs and whole packs travel. A recovery report tells how wild dogs came back to a Mozambique park.

Read the book. Print this page for the key.

Questions and answers

1. In the sneeze study, what was a quorum?
   • Sneezes that had to reach a certain threshold before the group changed activity (answer)
   • A kind of wild dog call
   • A pack's den
2. How far did the three brothers travel by 1 April 2026?
   • 4,126 kilometers (answer)
   • 41 kilometers
   • 412 meters
3. How many pups were born in Gorongosa in 2019, according to the report?
   • 2
   • 29 (answer)
   • 290
4. What were the greatest barriers for dispersing wild dogs in the Kavango-Zambezi study?
   • Rivers and mountains
   • Lions and hyenas
   • Human structures and areas of human activity (answer)
5. The number of sneezes needed was lower when the dominant dogs started a rally. What does that suggest?
   • Every dog's vote counts equally
   • Dominant dogs' votes carry more weight (answer)
   • Sneezes do not matter
6. What does threshold mean in: sneezes had to reach a certain threshold?
   • A set level (answer)
   • A den
   • A pack

Words

• quorum: enough votes
• threshold: set level
• apoptosis: programmed cell death
• dispersing: leaving home
• ungulates: hoofed animals
• dominant: in charge