‘Strength in numbers.’ ‘United we stand, divided we fall.’ ‘All for one, one for all.’ How many times have you heard these statements? They are very common because they express humans’ need for collective security and the fact that humans’ effectiveness multiplies when they work together in groups. But the ideas contained in these statements don’t just apply to human societies. In fact, these ideas explain why many animals live in groups. The idea of individualism and the power of individuals making a difference are very recent human ideas. For most of our history and for many types of animals, it is all about groups and group behavior. They live in groups because they get a lot of benefits from group living they would not get if they were to go it alone. Here are just some of the benefits animals get from group living.
Protection
When buffalo get threatened by wolves, the older and more mature members of the herd form a circle with their horns pointed outwards towards the wolves. 
Young buffalo and more vulnerable members go inside the circle. Under constant threat of sharks and other predators, fish swim in huge schools. While both of these group behavior patterns provide protection, they do so differently. These are the two most common ways animals use group living for protection. In the buffalo scenario, the group actively tries to keep all members safe by pooling their collective defenses. In the case of the schools of fish, instead of pooling defenses, the fish use their huge numbers to ensure that the vast majority of them won’t be eaten. Unlike the buffaloes which stand a good chance of keeping all of its members safe, the fish strategy sacrifices a few for the protection of the many. These two types of group protection are the most common in the animal world.
Sexual selection
The highest goal of any species is to reproduce. Living in groups boosts an animal’s chance of procreating. Not only do animals assure themselves of a partners, living in a large school or herd also ensures a higher level of selection. Selection is needed to ensure that the genetic stock of the next generation is hardy and can withstand a lot of pressures. This is why many herd animals have mating rituals and male competition. These factors ensure that only the fittest males pass on their genes to the next generation.
humans do the same. Our collective social sum is greater than our individual parts-regardless of what our individualist myths hold. The truth is, our instincts of banding together for mutual protection is deeply rooted in primal animal instincts because of the distinct advantages this instinctual mentality confers: strength in numbers, recycling of resources, easy access to assistance, easier transfer of information, and ease of finding sex partners. If you think these features seem clinical or distant, don’t take it personally. From a scientific perspective, these concerns are the same for flocks of birds, herds of cattle, and schools of fish. They are adaptive responses to an environment that tends to pick off lone individuals. Another reason why we have these traits in common with animals is we share the same brain wiring. While it’s obvious that human brains are bigger than most animal brains, our brains have some structural similarities that impact our behavior. In particular, we share with our animal cousins the same hardware for a ‘fight or flight’ response. This drives our instinctual behavior. For example, our sexual instincts or our hunger instincts are driven by the same part of the brain as those that drive a wolf’s or a cat’s brain. We just think we’re more ‘advanced’ because of our cerebral cortex. And it is true that we can exercise self-discipline. Still, lurking beneath all the refinement and science, lies our primitive brain-our common link with many other animals.
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