Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Snow Monkeys

The heat of summer is coming. I wouldn't mind heading to snowier fields with these Japanese Macaque's:
(Yosemite)

Interestingly, they form same-sex relationships. From the link above:

Same-sex relations are frequent, rates however vary between troops. Females will form consortships characterized by affectionate, social and sexual activities. In some troops up to one quarter of the females will form such bonds, which will vary in duration from a few days to a few weeks. Often, strong and lasting friendships will result from such pairings. Males also have same-sex relations, typically with multiple partners of the same age. Affectionate and playful activities are associated with such relations.