Not just humans, but monkeys are also paying for sex. Research by scientists from Singapore shows this, after observing wild Javan monkeys in Indonesia. The study is published in the British journal New Scientist.
Flea picking for longer periods of time
Males pay the females for a sexual adventure with significantly longer flea picking periods. “In places where there are fewer females than males, the price goes up, and vice versa,” said Michael Grumert from Singapore’s Nanyang Engineering University.
Supply and demand
Grumert evaluated observations in a group of 50 Javanese monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). On average, a female mated 1.5 times per hour. After longer flea periods by the males, this increased to 3.5 times per hour. In addition, the females only offered sex to males who had been flattering them longer.
Where many females were around, a male could buy sex for just 8 minutes of flea picking. Where there were fewer females, that had already increased to 16 minutes. The study is one of the first to demonstrate the influence of the market on mating behavior in nature, according to New Scientist.
