Animal sex lives: how similar are they to ours?

Animal sex lives are often compared with those of humans. But do you know why? Here are the most interesting points:

Animals get their kicks too (even if they don’t always have feet)

Sexual behaviours that aren’t driven by reproduction have been observed in our dolphin friends, and in our bonobo pals too. Believe it or not, orgasms have even been observed in some species! Among us humans, orgasms can also be rare (unfortunately), but pleasure plays a much bigger part in why we have sex. And if you’d like tips on increasing your sexual pleasure, you should read this article.

"Sensual seduction", as our rapper friend with a canine-inspired name would say (got it?)

No courtship displays spotted among dogs, though. Birds, on the other hand, are real charmers! During their migrations, they may put on displays and mate with multiple feathered partners. Think back to your last picnic in the park. I’m sure you saw a peacock strutting its stuff to attract a female with its colourful feathers. As for us, you only have to set foot in a nightclub to realise that behaviour isn’t limited to our feathered friends... Just look at Uncle Roger, single for two years, trying to pull at every wedding with his epic breakdancing solo.

A soft shell for feelings

All right, I admit it: I just wanted to make a pun. Scientists aren’t in agreement about whether animals have feelings, and the subject remains fairly controversial. What we can say is that our animal friends experience emotions such as joy, sadness, fear and stress. Gibbons, for example, often show affection towards their partners because, yes, they’re monogamous! So the ability to feel friendship or affection for those close to us is something we share with some animals, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s linked to sex. The same goes for humans, actually: you can absolutely have sex without feelings, as long as you don’t play with someone else’s!

And where does sex fit in?

What’s certain, though, is that our relationship with sex is much more emotional than animals’. Bonobos, for example, use sex to create and strengthen social bonds within their group. Even if they enjoy it, sex always serves a specific purpose for them, which isn’t necessarily the case for humans.

The takeaway is that, as humans, we have a much wider range of possibilities when it comes to mating, relationships and choosing sexual partners. We decide together what works best for us, and we can do as we please, as long as we don’t devour our partner (get that reference?)