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

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