Information Cascades Among Wildlife
Information cascading occurs not only among the human population, but also with other species, especially those that live and travel in groups. The article I found explains the various ways white-tailed deer communicate, among those being the signature flash of the white tail when the deer is alarmed. Deer usually carry their tails down, only raising them when they sense danger. This signal spreads the information of danger to the rest of the herd, and as alarm increases, deer receiving the information will also raise their tails in alarm.
This act of communication for white-tailed deer can be explained as an information cascade. When the first deer senses danger and raises its tail, other deer will raise their tail and spread the information of danger even if they themselves are not fully aware of the danger. The information cascade starts when a deer raises its tail to signal danger when it has not personally recognized the danger and is solely relying on the previous deer’s judgment. This information cascade allows the entire herd to be informed as quickly as possible, maximizing the chance of every deer’s survival when predators are in the vicinity.
http://buckmanager.com/deer-management-articles/white-tailed-deer-communication.pdf