Monkeys pay for sex - January 03, 2008
Male macaque monkeys appear to ‘pay’ for sex with females by grooming them.
“When the opportunity arises, male macaque monkeys groom females to ‘pay’ for sex,” says Michael Gumert of Nanyang Technological University in Singapore (New Scientist – subscription required).
According to New Scientist a female would normally have sex 1.5 times per hour but after being groomed this increases to 3.5 times per hour. Maybe I have a low libido but those numbers seem incredibly high and missing a caveat such as “at peak mating times” or at least “during waking hours”.
The abstract of the research in question says grooming mainly occurred when females were sexually active, adding, “Moreover, male-to-female grooming was associated with an increase in female rates for all forms of sexual activity, where in contrast, female-to-male grooming was associated with decreased rates of mating in the groomed males.”
Commenting on the research, Ronald Noë of the University of Strasbourg, says, “ There is a very well-known mix of economic and mating markets in the human species itself. There are many examples of rich old men getting young attractive ladies.”
Other people following up the New Scientist piece include the Scotsman, AFP and the Sun. Best headline award (predictably) goes to the last of those: Monkeys ‘pay’ to do business
Image: Punchstock
Comments
Soon they will be buying them little diamond rings, and end up sitting on little couches while she goes shopping. They are Evolving.
Posted by: dave | January 8, 2008 10:04 PM
What a ridiculous piece of drivel and spin. The concept of payment is misguided at best and just plain wrong at worst. "male-to-female grooming was associated with an increase in female rates for all forms of sexual activity" Sounds like the equivalent of foreplay or mating ritual to me, the untrained third party. What exactly is new here, in terms of our understanding of these creatures?
Posted by: Terry Bigioni | February 9, 2008 05:02 AM
Everything we see in nature is the desire to receive pleasure and its fulfillment. The behaviour of these monkeys is an expression of that desire at the animate level. The males have a desire for sex and use their mind to carry out the necessary actions to fulfill that desire. Humans run on the same operating principle: maximum pleasure for least amount of work. We do this for the purpose of receiving pleasure for ourselves. Ultimately, this program of receiving for oneself, called Egoism, leaves us unfulfilled and chasing one desire after another. By changing our inner programming to receive for the sake of others, humanity can transcend its current state and experience true fulfillment and eternal pleasure. For more information see here: http://www.laitman.com/2008/03/love-and-hunger-rule-the-world/
Posted by: M.R. | July 27, 2008 12:32 PM
email me more information on this
Posted by: montyglover | August 27, 2008 10:11 PM