Forget flowers and chocolates.
It's called sexual swelling.
When some female primates want a male's attention, they broadcast their fertility with a swollen, bright red backside.
This is with baboons, chimps, some Old World monkeys.
It's nature's "available" sign, not subtle, but brutally effective.
This swelling isn't about injury.
It's hormones.
A surge of estrogen kicks off the whole process.
Blood rushes in, tissue gets engorged, the whole area puffs up dramatically. The bigger and brighter, the more attractive she is to the males.
This isn't just about looks, though.
That swelling means she's in her fertile window, primed and ready to mate. It's a screaming signal of her peak ovulation.
The stakes are high.
Males get territorial, competition gets fierce, and the female gets the pick of the best.
This system isn't foolproof, but it streamlines the whole mating game.
The guys know when to fight, and when to quit wasting energy chasing females who aren't receptive.
As her cycle changes, the swelling goes down, the signal disappears.
Imagine a flashing neon sign turning off – that's how effective it is at communicating.
No comments:
Post a Comment