Monkeys 'pay' for sex
Male macaques will groom females for sex, study finds
Thursday, 03, Jan 2008 09:14
The 'oldest profession' may have pre-human roots, according to scientists who found that some monkeys will 'pay' for sex.
Michael Gumert of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, observed a group of male macaques in Indonesia grooming their female counterparts in an attempt to have sex with them.
After bouts of grooming there was an increase in sexual activity, the New Scientist reports.
Dr Gumert studied the 50-strong group of long-tailed macaques over a 20-month period.
On average females had sex 1.5 times per hour, but immediately after grooming by a male partner this rose to 3.5 times per hour.
After grooming the female was also less likely to offer herself to other males.
How much grooming a male macaque needs to carry out before sex is allowed was found to depend on how many females were in the area.
If there were several females in the area then a male could 'buy' a female for about eight minutes of grooming, while if there were more males than females then a male would have to groom his partner for up to 16 minutes before sex could take place.
Ronald Noe of the University of Strasbourg, who has worked on social behaviour theories, told the New Scientist that a 'two-player interaction' does not make sense in this "general mating market".
"There is a very well-known mix of economic and mating markets in the human species itself," he commented.
"There are many examples of rich old men getting young attractive ladies."