Chimp knows to change meat for sex

One study found that male chimpanzees often use hunted meat in exchange for a chance to mate with females.

Male chimpanzees are ready to divide the meat for their children even when they are not in the estrus period.Photo: Cristina Gomes.

Dr. Cristina Gomes, a scientist of the Evolutionary Anthropology Institute in Germany, and colleagues studying chimpanzees in the Tai Forest reserve in Ivory Coast. The team tracks chimpanzees' hunts and the number of times they mate. They found that males regularly share meat that they have twice as many sex ties as "stingy" ones.

"By dividing meat for children, male chimpanzees are more mated and females also get more nutrients into their bodies. But the strange thing is if a male gives meat to a certain female. the number of times it mates with that female doubles, " commented Gomes.

Meat is an important food for animals because it is rich in protein. Because chimpanzees rarely hunt, they often face periods of nutrient deficiency.

Scientists already know that male chimpanzees have long separated meat from their children, but they do not understand the purpose of that behavior. Some argue that the chimpanzees change meat for love. But no one has found evidence to prove this hypothesis. Many previous studies failed because people only pay attention to direct "transactions", meaning male chimpanzees share meat with a female who is in estrus and then commit mating immediately. .

Dr. Gomes's group conducts research in another direction. Earlier, Gomes realized that chimp behavior and chewing took place for a long time. So she thinks that changing meat may also take place in the long term. "We track female chimpanzees even when they are not in the estrus period. At that time their sex organs are not bulging and they do not like sex," Gomes explained.

The results show that male chimpanzees still feed their offspring even when they are not in estrus. "Males can bring meat to their children today and mate with it tomorrow or the other day," Gomes added.

According to Gomes, this study may help scientists who want to explore the link between hunting skills and the level of success in primitive human reproduction. "I will conduct a study of meat change behavior for sex in our ancestors in the early stages," Gomes said.