Female baboons are known for their large red bottoms that are used to attract mates, but new research suggests males might not prefer curvier ladies.
A study of wild baboons in southern Kenya found the size of the female's behind does not have as much of an influence as scientists thought they did, Duke University reported.
For between 10 and 20 days per month the tissue in female baboons' rumps swells up, indicating she is ready to mate; scientists used a camera technique to monitor the baboons' swelling and mating habits. Measurements from 34 female baboons showed a variation of rump swelling ranging from four to 6.5 inches. They found this difference in size did not have an influence on the baboons' mothering abilities or ability to get a mate. Instead of being drawn to females with larger backsides, male baboons tended to prefer females who had cycled more times since their last pregnancy.
"It's almost as if the males are counting," Fitzpatrick said. "Our study suggests that, at least in part, males follow a rule along the lines of 'later is better' rather than 'bigger is better.'"
In the future the researchers plan to determine if females who have had more postpartum menstrual cycles mate with more males, and whether or not if this has an influence on their offspring's chance of survival.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Animal Behavior.
