Friday, September 25, 1998 Published at 11:17 GMT 12:17 UK<\/p>\n
Females ‘stray to gather the best possible genes for their
\noffspring’<\/i><\/p>\n
Infidelity may be natural according to studies that show nine out of
\n10 mamals and birds that mate for life are unfaithful.<\/p>\n
Experts found animals that fool around are only following the urges
\nof biology.<\/p>\n
New studies using genetic testing techniques show that even the most
\napparently devoted of partners often go in search of the sexual company
\nof strangers.<\/p>\n
Females stray to gather the best possible genes for their offspring,
\nwhile males are driven to father as many and as often as possible.<\/p>\n
“True monogamy actually is rare,” said Stephen T Emlen, an expert on
\nevolutionary behaviour at Cornell University.<\/p>\n
According to him, there are two kinds of monogamy – social and
\ngenetic.<\/p>\n
In the first kind partners bond and work together to raise their
\nyoung. With “genetic monogamy,” parents are faithful sex partners.<\/p>\n
While social monogamy is relatively common, genetic monogamy is the
\nexception rather than the rule.<\/p>\n
Dr Emlen said there are only two monkeys, the marmoset and the
\ntamarin, are truly monogamous.<\/p>\n
All other primates, includes humans, often mate outside their
\npartnerships.<\/p>\n
“One of the patterns is that females seek males of high status and
\nhigh quality,” said Dr Emlen.<\/p>\n
“By doing so, they are able to produce offspring of higher quality
\nthat will be able to do better and survive better.”<\/p>\n
Males are said to be biologically driven to stray by the desire to
\nspread their genes into as many members of the next generation as
\npossible.<\/p>\n
But the reasons why people have sex outside a relationship are far
\nmore complex.<\/p>\n
Researchers generally believe that monogamy originated among species
\nwhose young survived best when raised by a bonded pair.<\/p>\n
This may have led to the rise of monogamy among people, since human
\nchildren take so long to mature.<\/p>\n
Faithful sex partnership has been thought for years to be widespread
\namong birds.<\/p>\n
The eastern bluebird was considered a prime example, with male and
\nfemale partners working together to build nests, incubate eggs, then
\nfeed and raise their young.<\/p>\n
But researchers have found that the bluebirds have a sex life that
\nrivals a television soap opera.<\/p>\n
Patricia Adair Gowarty, a behavioural ecologist at the University of
\nGeorgia, has found that 15% to 20% of chicks cared for by a pair of
\nbluebirds were not fathered by the male.<\/p>\n
She found that only 10% of 180 socially monogamous species are
\nsexually faithful.<\/p>\n
The research is published in the journal Science.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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