Bonobos, or Pan Paniscus, are one of humanity’s living closest relatives (WWF, 2014). Pan paniscus has many intersting traits, fromt the breadth of their diet to the variety of their modes of locomotion. However, they are most known for their unsual sexual habits. Pan paniscus engage in sexual behavior, including genital and scrotal rubbing, as well as penetrative sex, to resolve tensions surrounding heirarchy and food distribution. They do not discriminate in choosing partners regardless of sex, and it is normal for an individual to cut in on a partner,as well as what we would consider stranger behavior, such as an individual randomly joining individuals engaging in sex, or, as Meredith Small charmingly phrases it, “others join in by randomly …show more content…
The WWF describes the Congo Basin as such:
A mosaic of rivers, forests, savannas, swamps and flooded forests, the Congo Basin is teeming with life… There are approximately 10, 000 species of tropical plants in the Congo Basin and 30 percent are unique to the region. Endangered wildlife, including forest elephants, chimpanzees, Pan paniscus, and lowland and mountain gorillas inhabit the lush forests. 400 other species of mammals, 1,000 species of birds and 700 species of fish can also be found here.
The area inhabitited by Pan paniscus does not lack for resources; fruit and small mammals are abundant in the trees and on the ground. Pan paniscus are mostly herbavoious, but are best described as oppotunist omnivores. According to Katherine Lang, author of primatological materials says: “fruit, seeds, sprouts, leaves, flowers, bark, stems, pith, roots, and mushrooms. Though the majority of their diet is fruit (57%), Pan paniscus are also known to consume small mammals, insect larvae, earthworms, honey, eggs, and soil.” Pan paniscus’ clever oppurtunism allows them to sidestep evolutionary niching and leaves them with not want to food resources. Pan paniscus also employ a variety of modes of locomotion, including quadrupedal knuckle walking, modified brachiation and some bipedalism. Pan paniscus spend the majority of their time resting, foraging and feeding, usually at a height
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Interestingly, Pan paniscus engage in recreational sexual activity the most after finding a particularly large chache of food. It is most likely that Pan paniscus use sexual activity to ‘trade’ a social bond and sexual pleasure for food. Frans de Waal of the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Facility at Emory University explains the concept of sexual activity as social bonding: “Like humans but unlike chimps and most other mammals, Pan paniscus seperate sex from reproduction. They seem to treat sex as a pleasurable activity, and they rely on it as a sort of social glue, to make or break all sorts of relationships.” Meredith Small
A Primate’s Memoir, written by Robert Sapolsky, documents the author’s time in Kenya while he studied the various behaviors of a troop of baboons. One of the key aspects of the book was the social rank that developed within the troop. Female baboons have a social hierarchy that is fairly cut and dry. The eldest baboons in the troop are considered the higher-ranking females, and as the baboons get younger, so to follows the string of dominance. The ranking for males was essentially from the strongest baboons to the weakest baboons. The baboon at the top of the social hierarchy was considered the alpha male. This social rank has huge implications for the troop in regards to which baboons mated with each other. If another baboon wanted to become the alpha male, then he would have to challenge the current alpha male to a fight, and win. The baboon’s distinct personality mixed with their instincts are the primary factors for where one lands on the social hierarchy. Another key aspect of the book was the strategies that took place when the baboons wanted to mate with another baboon. Similar to humans, the baboon males tried to impress the female baboons in a way that would make them want to mate. The rank of the male is considered to be one of the greatest factors contributing to what mate they end up with, because there is nothing more impressive than becoming a high-ranking baboon. Also, there were instances of lower-ranking baboons strategizing and forming teams with other baboons to become a higher ranking baboon for the mating possibilities. The baboons in the group are considered a patch-work of different troops, as it is common for one baboon to move to different groups frequently.
There are contrasts in tool kits used by different groups of chimpanzees, which seem to be a result of the environment in which they live as well as information that is shared by the group. For example, in 1973 it was reported that chimpanzees in Gombe did not use hammer stones, but those of Cape Palmas did. We will explore the tool use of Chimpanzees from the wild, including Gombe, Tai National Forest, and the Congo Basin---and contrast those with Chimpanzees in captivity in locations of Zoo’s both in the United States and abroad.
Every species has their unique way to survive and interact with their environment. Some have extra appendages in order to better combat predators, or they have bodies that allow them to camouflage to their environment. Every species also has their way of reproducing and copulation, whether for necessity or for enjoyment. Two species with different mating habits are the Apis mellifera, better known as honey bees, and Pan paniscus, Bonobos apes. The former uses its reproduction methods for the survival of the entire colony of honey bees in exchange with the death of few and the former uses copulation in a social setting in order to keep the peace of the pack.
Soble, Alan., edited by. The Philosophy of Sex. Contemporary Readings. Revised Second Edition. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 1991.
Watanabe, K. and Muroyama, Y. 2005. Recent expansion of the range of Japanese macaques, and associated management problems. In: Paterson, J. and Wallis, J. eds. 2005. . Commensalism and conflict: the human-primate interface. Norman (OK): Am Soc Primatol.
The monkeys of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book are a very unique group of characters. They are viewed by the other animals of the jungle, or the Jungle People as they call themselves, as outcasts and outlaws. The most prominent chapter they occur in, “Kaa’s Hunting”, shows their lawless, shiftless, and uncivilized way of life. This image in itself does not give off any racist undertone. However, Disney’s adaption of The Jungle Book carries this view of the monkeys, while also giving them strong attributes that are commonly associated with African-Americans.
The two books examined in this paper, Martin Daly and Margo Wilson's Homicide and David M. Buss's The Evolution of Desire, suggest that human mating strategies have an evolutionary basis. The book written by Martin Daly and Margo Wilson supplies the theoretical groundwork and the book written by David M. Buss gives validity and empirical support for the theory. The two books make a strong scientific argument for evolutionary adaptations as the most crucial element to understanding human sexuality and desire. According to this argument, the key to understanding human sexuality lies in the evolutionary origin of our species.
The reason I am writing this paper is to share the information I attained about human sexuality by learning about sexuality in a college setting and by exploring my sexuality through personal experiences. I do not consider myself to have experienced much exposure to sexual behavior but I do have a cultural bias to what I consider a heavy amount of exposure because the North American culture is considered more promiscuous and sexually active than other cultures.
Throughout time scientists, philosophers, and laymen alike have discussed questions of the complexity of sex. These questions range from what sex is, to what is a sexual perversion, and far beyond exploring every nook and cranny of the subject. One of the authors that is well know for this type of discussion for idea of how to explain sexual desire is Alan Goldman. During his writing of “Plain Sex”, Goldman tries to define what sexual desire is, what a sexual perversion is, and other claims relating to sexual desire, often shrugging off previously believed theories. His ideas lead away from the idea that sex has a means end and leads to a more primal basis that sex is a desire for physical contact and the need to fulfill this desire for physical contact. In the end I will argue that his definition leaves out our basic cognitive functions and defines humans as to primal form of being. This leads us into his central arguments for why he sees it logically necessary that sex is a need for physical contact and the pleasure that comes from it.
In the article “An Anthropological Look at Human Sexuality” the authors, Patrick Gray and Linda Wolfe speak about how societies look at human sexuality. The core concept of anthology is the idea of culture, the systems of attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors people acquire as a member of society. The authors give an in depth analysis on how human sexuality is looked at in all different situations.
Yitzchak M Binik; Kenneth Mah; Sara Kiesler. The Journal of Sex Research: Ethical issues in conducting sex research on the Internet.; Feb 1999; 36, 1; Research Library Core pg. 82
In “Magic and Joy: Traditional Aboriginal Views of Human Sexuality” by David Newhouse, after formulating a survey in the University of Toronto, “57 per cent of the sample described sex as ‘magical’”, some even thought of it as “spiritual” (Newhouse, 434), which was surprising as it is not exactly viewed that way in Western civilization. Sexuality is portrayed as freeing and a blessing for Aboriginal peoples
Baboons belong to the Old World monkey family, Cercopithecidae. They are found in Africa, south of the Sahara as well as in the Saudi Arabia desert (Class Notes 6/12/01). There are five subspecies of baboons including the hamadryas, the Guinea, the yellow, the chacma, and the olive baboons.
Prause, Nicole, and Cynthia A. Graham. "Asexuality: Classification and Characterization ." Archive of Sex Behavior . 36. (2007): 341. Print.
Sexual intercourse is something all animals are biologically programmed to do to pass on favorable genes to the next generation and ensure the survival of the species. Humans are no exception to this, but human sexuality is much more complex than just reproduction. We are rational and social beings with emotions, beliefs and behaviors that are influenced by both biological and cultural factors. Sexual behaviors are entangled in the web of all of these things, making human relationships extremely complicated and easily altered by internal and external forces and motivations. For example, the widespread assumptions about sex drive, or libido, between males and females have become almost solely cultural phenomena. In movies, TV shows, music, and