Female Mammals Select Only the Right Partners

Their noses aid them in that regard

Thus far, scientists and naturalists have known that female birds are the most picky living things when it comes to their mates, but have never suspected that the same behavior could be found in mammals as well. But recent investigations into the matter seem to yield very interesting conclusions, in that it actually turns out that females of all mammal species have very good instincts when it comes to selecting the right mating partner. Until that male is found, other pretenders are mercilessly cast aside, so as to make room for “the one.”

Cambridge University zoologist Tim Clutton-Brock and Katherine McAuliffe, a researcher at the Harvard University, have worked together for the new paper, which is published in the March issue of the journal The Quarterly Review of Biology. They have brought pieces of evidence that suggest females of all mammal species use their noses with a great degree of accuracy in detecting the male with the best possible genes. The reason why most researchers have thus far been unable to see this behavior, they share, is because it is not as obvious to the human observers as that of birds.

“The most convincing evidence for female mate choice in mammals comes from studies of captive mammals (...) carried out under controlled conditions where the effects of male competition can be excluded,” they write in the paper. It's “possible that in some mammals, males produce olfactory signals that match the elaboration and complexity of the peacock's tail (...) or the sedge warbler's song.”

Because most mammal species prefer to mate at dusk or during the night, it would stand to reason that it's not visual appearance that is the main aspect females look for when selecting their mates. That's why olfactory cues are most likely the best way for the animals to detect the traits of a possible mate and to act based on them. Clutton-Brock and McAuliffe suggest that lab analysis of the pheromones released in the air by courting males might provide the best insight into the mating behavior of most mammal species.

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