Sunday, November 26, 2006

Male chimps put age before beauty when searching for a mate

Male chimpanzees have a penchant for a toyboy lifestyle and would far rather pair off with an older female than find one of their own age, a study has found.

To a young male chimp there is nothing so attractive as wrinkles, sagging skin and bald patches in a female who is old enough to be his great-great-grandmother.

Young women in human society can find themselves faced with a queue of men hoping to buy them a drink, but in chimpanzee communities it is the experienced female who is regarded as the epitome of beauty.

So strong is the male urge to find an older partner that fights frequently break out over rights of access to the oldest female chimps in the tribe.

By contrast, the young females with all their fur, the perfect chimp complexion and a perfectly toned body can merely hope to mate with the weakest, most unwanted male specimens

Other animal oddities include:

Female brown trout fake orgasms.

The male African golden web orb spider has two penises, both of which break off during sex.

Having sex has been shown to extend the lifespan of a species of mite known as Histiostoma feroniarum.

Male goats are excited by displays of lesbianism.

Ladybirds copulate for up to nine hours at a time.

The male flour beetle is the only creature that can mate with and impregnate a female he has never met.

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