Animals are sophisticated enough to social distance when necessary, and in nuanced ways too - not just by avoiding animals that look infected. I wonder if such behaviour is learned or encoded somehow. Fascinating either way. And are there any individuals who don't comply with this behaviour ? Personally I think I'd be fine with this working from home malarkey indefinitely, but lots of people aren't. Are there similarly rebellious animals who try to break quarantine, and what - if anything - do the other animals do in response ?
Ants have evolved the ability to socially distance. When a contagious disease sweeps through their society, both sick and healthy ants rapidly change their behavior in ways that slow disease transmission. Sick ants self-isolate, and healthy ants reduce their interaction with other ants when disease is present in the colony.
Healthy ants even “close rank” around the most vulnerable colony members—the queens and nurses—by keeping them isolated from the foragers that are most likely to introduce germs from outside. Overall, these measures are highly effective at limiting disease spread and keeping colony members alive.
Some animals maintain essential social interactions in the face of sickness while foregoing less critical ones. For example, vampire bats continue to provide food for their sick groupmates, but avoid grooming them. This minimizes contagion risk while still preserving forms of social support that are most essential to keeping sick family members alive, such as food sharing.
Using distance to avoid getting sick has deep evolutionary roots for humans and many other species.
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