No
one likes a love rat, and it's not only humans that change their
behaviour when cheating to avoid discovery. New research shows gelada
baboons do it too!
Gelada baboons (Theropithecus gelada) live
in social groups of about a dozen females and fewer males. Each group is
lead by a dominant male who has mating privileges with all the females.
Subordinate males are not allowed to mate with his "harem"
and typically hang around the edges of the group. However, genetic
research reveals these subordinate males can father nearly 20% of the
group's young. They can't be hiding to mate - they live in open
grassland, with nothing to hide behind - so how are they getting away
with it?
The answer lies in tactical deception. When gelada
baboons mate, both male and female emit loud calls (heard more than 30
metres away). Cheating baboons keep quiet. In 1000 pairings, the
cheating baboons were much quieter, making less sexual noises. These
pairings usually took place over 20 metres away from the dominant
baboon.
However, it's not a flawless strategy. The team found a
fifth of subordinate male-female pairings were interrupted by an angry
dominant male, who tried to bite or hurt them. He doesn't mate with her
afterwards, he just doesn't like anyone else mating with his females.
Unfortunately for him this punishment doesn't have a lasting effect, as
subordinate males quickly go back to their cheating ways.
Photo credit: frankfocus.com
http://phys.org/news/
http://www.livescience.com/
No
one likes a love rat, and it's not only humans that change their
behaviour when cheating to avoid discovery. New research shows gelada
baboons do it too!
Gelada baboons (Theropithecus gelada) live in social groups of about a dozen females and fewer males. Each group is lead by a dominant male who has mating privileges with all the females. Subordinate males are not allowed to mate with his "harem" and typically hang around the edges of the group. However, genetic research reveals these subordinate males can father nearly 20% of the group's young. They can't be hiding to mate - they live in open grassland, with nothing to hide behind - so how are they getting away with it?
The answer lies in tactical deception. When gelada baboons mate, both male and female emit loud calls (heard more than 30 metres away). Cheating baboons keep quiet. In 1000 pairings, the cheating baboons were much quieter, making less sexual noises. These pairings usually took place over 20 metres away from the dominant baboon.
However, it's not a flawless strategy. The team found a fifth of subordinate male-female pairings were interrupted by an angry dominant male, who tried to bite or hurt them. He doesn't mate with her afterwards, he just doesn't like anyone else mating with his females. Unfortunately for him this punishment doesn't have a lasting effect, as subordinate males quickly go back to their cheating ways.
Photo credit: frankfocus.com
http://phys.org/news/
http://www.livescience.com/
Gelada baboons (Theropithecus gelada) live in social groups of about a dozen females and fewer males. Each group is lead by a dominant male who has mating privileges with all the females. Subordinate males are not allowed to mate with his "harem" and typically hang around the edges of the group. However, genetic research reveals these subordinate males can father nearly 20% of the group's young. They can't be hiding to mate - they live in open grassland, with nothing to hide behind - so how are they getting away with it?
The answer lies in tactical deception. When gelada baboons mate, both male and female emit loud calls (heard more than 30 metres away). Cheating baboons keep quiet. In 1000 pairings, the cheating baboons were much quieter, making less sexual noises. These pairings usually took place over 20 metres away from the dominant baboon.
However, it's not a flawless strategy. The team found a fifth of subordinate male-female pairings were interrupted by an angry dominant male, who tried to bite or hurt them. He doesn't mate with her afterwards, he just doesn't like anyone else mating with his females. Unfortunately for him this punishment doesn't have a lasting effect, as subordinate males quickly go back to their cheating ways.
Photo credit: frankfocus.com
http://phys.org/news/
http://www.livescience.com/
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