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Eavesdropping monkeys spy on copulating neighbours

2 April 2008

Video: The ejaculation-inducing cries of promiscuous female macaques during sex arouse other local males

MALE Barbary macaques eavesdrop on their neighbours having sex to make sure they don’t miss out on the fun – and to give their sperm a chance to compete in the great fertilisation race.

Female Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) cry out during sex, and the call stimulates ejaculation in the male. The females can also slightly modify the call, making the male less likely to ejaculate.

Dana Pfefferle of the German Primate Center in Göttingen and her colleagues recorded ejaculatory and non-ejaculatory calls produced by females at…

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