Let's stay together, darling... or the baby dies

摘要

WHY stick with just one member of the opposite sex when there are so many to choose from?Love and tax breaks may be the reasons we cite today, but our primate ancestors had other motivations. Preventing a newborn from being killed by an unrelated male was top of the list.Social monogamy - when a male and female of the species stick together for life, although may mate with others - is rare in mammals generally. However, it occurs in over a quarter of primate species, including humans, gibbons and New World monkeys such as titis.