IF ONLY men were more like marmosets. Unlike their human counterparts, marmoset fathers don鈥檛 get turned on by females they have just met.
Primatologists Charles Snowdon and Toni Ziegler of the University of Wisconsin at Madison have found that in male monkeys with no mate, the odour of an unfamiliar ovulating female triggers a jump in testosterone levels and sexual behaviours. But this does not happen in males with offspring. 鈥淔athers don鈥檛 show any response,鈥� Snowdon says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like they鈥檙e being inhibited by a fatherhood factor.鈥�
Males with mates who have not yet had any offspring tend to show an intermediate testosterone response.
Advertisement