Prostitution among animals

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Prostitution among animals refers to the phenomenon where non-human animals engage in transactional sex. This type of sex has been observed in various species of primates, including chimpanzees.

Penguins

Prostitution in animals was first reported in 1998 by Fiona Hunter, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, and Lloyd Davis from the University of Otago, who spent five years observing the mating behavior of Adélie penguins. The study was conducted as part of an Antarctica New Zealand program on Ross Island, approximately 800 miles (1,300 km) from the South Pole. According to the paper titled " Female Adélie Penguins Acquire Nest Material from Extrapair Males after Engaging in Extrapair Copulations ", extra-pair copulation occurs at the male's nesting site, after which the female takes one or more stones to use for building her nest. In contrast, when extra-pair copulation occurs at the female's nesting site, the male does not take a stone. A male that copulates with a female benefits his progeny when she takes a stone from him. Sometimes, copulation does not occur, yet the female still takes a stone. Both males and females steal stones; while they are sometimes successful, they can also be attacked. The researchers observed that some females are not always willing to copulate to avoid conflict. They speculated about the possible genetic fitness advantages and disadvantages of this practice and were uncertain whether the female copulates mainly to obtain a stone.

Hunter subsequently stated that female penguins likely do not engage in prostitution solely for stones. She remarked: "... what they are doing is copulating for another reason and simply taking the stones as well. We do not know exactly why, but they are utilizing the males." This behavior was also proposed as a mate choice process, through which females might identify a potential future mate. This behavior would provide a female penguin with an additional male should her current mate die. According to Hunter's observation, the number of penguins engaging in this behavior was "only a few percent."

Chimpanzees

A study conducted by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, and published online in the Public Library of Science aimed to support the meat-for-sex behavior hypothesis, which posits that the best male hunters in early human societies had the greatest number of sexual partners. Unable to study early humans directly, researchers examined chimpanzees instead. They observed chimpanzees in Taï National Park and concluded that a form of prostitution exists among them, in which females offer sex to males in exchange for meat. According to Cristina Gomes of the Institute, the study "strongly suggests that wild chimpanzees exchange meat for sex and do so on a long-term basis. " The data shows that chimps participate in communities that involve hunting and sharing meat over extended periods, and that females within these meat-sharing communities tend to copulate with males from their own groups. However, direct exchanges of meat for sex have not been observed.

Capuchin monkeys

A study at Yale–New Haven Hospital trained capuchin monkeys to use silver discs as money to explore their economic behavior. The monkeys could exchange the discs for various treats. During one isolated incident, a researcher observed what seemed to be a monkey exchanging a disc for sex. The monkey that was compensated for sex immediately traded the silver disc for a grape.

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