A male chimpanzee may beg for food from another chimpanzee by gesturing with an extended arm and open hand.But the same gesture may also be used to ask a female chimpanzee for sex, or between two males as a sign of reconciliation after a fight, said primatologist Frans de Waal, a member of the research team.
"Typically they may use it for food ... but they may use the same gesture for something totally different, so for instance a male may invite a female for sex by holding out an open hand to her," Dr de Waal said.
Soo... well... do female chimps sometimes get the wrong idea and give the male chimps food when they're asking for sex - or vice versa? Yeah yeah I know... it's all about context. Bonobos on the other hand don't even have to ask they just have sex allll the time!
Comments
couldn't they just slip female chimps their number on a little leaf?
this is the endocrinologist nerd in me, but i think that non-human primates are the only other species that will mate face-to-face (per your image). for some reason, that strikes me both as self-evident and as a little odd.
Posted by: kate | May 1, 2007 10:14 AM
Maybe it has something to do with the ability to stand... ahem... erect?
Posted by: Brian | May 1, 2007 4:26 PM
For some reason it bothers me that there are scientists whose job is to watch monkeys have sex.
I'm a primate...does this work on human women?
Posted by: Brandon | July 29, 2007 3:36 PM