Cheating is common in the animal kingdom?!

[neebob]

I swear, the anchor on CNN just said that, apparently discussing infidelity with some other woman in advance of a show on the subject. I wonder if the animals know they're cheating.

[trof]

1. No ceremony.

No license.
No harm.
No foul. (fowl?)

[Loonman]

2. Stupid anchor

That remark allows for the fact that animals marry.

I know swans couple for life, but I've never seen 'em in a church or courthouse.

[StClone]

11. Believe it or not

Many species (especially birds) have very elaborate inherity-based courtship displays that MUST be followed to the letter before "pair bonding" may occur. Mating after that courtship often takes place with the "infedelity" occurring thereafter. They are more human (or vice versus) than we care to believe.

[LuLu550]

3. I think animals are doing

what nature tells them to do - try to make babies!

[RebelOne]

4. As far as I know, most animals (except for humans) are monogamous.

[LuLu550]

6. that's not true

most animals are NOT monogamous! In fact, it is rare ...most "do it" as often and with as many members of the opposite sex because they want to make tons of babies!

[gWbush is Mabus]

19. because it FEELS GOOD...babies is a side effect

[truthspeaker]

7. think it's the opposite

I'm pretty sure monogamy is the exception, not the rule, in the animal kingdom.

And among other primates - oy! Most varieties of chimp have several sexual partners per day. Bonobos are especially promiscous, and usually bisexual.

[wysi]

8. Only some...

A number of bird species are monogamous. Most mammals are not, and (non-human) primates are not as a rule. If you believe (as I do) the basic tenets of evolutionary psychology, neither are human primates.

[LuLu550]

12. welcome, wysi

you sound like a social humanist or something!
:toast:

[wysi]

17. I guess I am...

... something like that. A scientist and philosopher by training, an atheist and humanist by choice. And my dad was a union rep, giving me a pretty strong social justice streak!

[LuLu550]

21. woo hoo!

You should go to that link for the COmmunist thread...it's a hoot!
welcome, again!

[Liberal Veteran]

13. Actually, monogamy in the animal kingdom is fairly rare...

Among birds it is more common, but in the rest of the animal kingdom, monogamy is rare.

[deminflorida]

18. Only Dolphins....I believe.

n/t

[never cry wolf]

20. I believe wolves mate for life as well

Read that in "Never Cry Wolf" by Farley Mowat.

[patdem]

5. IF an animal is monogomous it NEVER cheats...if she thinks a dog

who has a litter with this female cheats by having a litter with another is cheating...that woman/man/dog is STUPID beyond measure!!!

[neebob]

16. Unfortunately, I only heard

"Blah, blah, blah, cheating is common in the animal kingdom" and went, "What?! Did she really just say that?" I think she was citing another source, like she had heard or read that somewhere. I guess it's a hazard of the occupation that she might occasionally say something without forethought that would come out sounding stupid.

[amazona]

9. it is very common

Most mammals are not monogamous to begin with so it is perhaps untrue to say that they are "cheating." As humans are mammals, it is likely we have set an unreasonable standard for ourselves. Be that as it may, many birds pair up for the season and sometimes for life, and around 90 percent of species are considered "monogamous." With DNA testing of the birds and their offspring, researchers have been able to determine that these monogamous species cheat like the crazy. Both the males and the females are sneaking off to get some on the side. It is not a matter of the female stuck tapping her toes while the male is out spreading the seed; while he's taking his turn on the nest or whatever, she's slipping over to play with the neighbors too....

[david_vincent]

10. "Cheating" is obviously a judgment that's imposed by a human observer,

but yes, the comment is pretty accurate. Some animals, such as tigers, are utterly monogamous. Among the other species, females are known to mate with rogue males when their "partner" is away. Homosexuality and rape are also known to occur - in dolphins and orangutans, for instance.

[SoCalProgressive]

14. They do, I know first-hand

I was playing poker with an emu, and I swear to god he cheated. Five aces in one deck of cards, I don't think so...

[theorist]

15. Animals other than humans do not have rules.

Therefore, they cannot cheat. To think that we can derive any knowledge of our own behavior from the animal kingdom is a logical fallacy. It is a result of our patriarchal society attempting to find justifications for infidelity. For humans, monogamy is the norm, not the exception. Period.