Linked to a BBC1 television series, this is an account of sexual reproduction in the animal world, culminating in the question of why there should be sex in the first place - the ultimate driving force of evolution, but also selfish, aggressive, competitive, and sometimes fatal. The meeting of mates, the sexual act, and the consequences of producing offspring, forge an alliance between males and females that is rife with tension and distrust. The two sexes tactically play games with each other to get the best return from mating: at stake is the greatest reward for any animal on earth - the generation and survival of their progeny. The drive to succeed in this gives rise to a violent, beautiful and spectacular show of animal behaviour, captured here through the book's colour photographs.
The remarkable and unique ways that male and female animals play out gender roles in nature While we joke that men are from Mars and women are from Venus, our gender differences can't compare to those of many other animals. For instance, the male garden spider spontaneously dies after mating with a female more than fifty times his size. And male blanket octopuses employ a copulatory arm longer than their own bodies to mate with females that outweigh them by four orders of magnitude. Why do these gender gulfs exist? Introducing readers to important discoveries in animal behavior and evolution, Odd Couples explores some of the most extraordinary sexual differences in the animal world. Daphne Fairbairn uncovers the unique and bizarre characteristics of these remarkable species and the special strategies they use to maximize reproductive success. Fairbairn also considers humans and explains that although we are keenly aware of our own sexual differences, they are unexceptional within the vast animal world. Looking at some of the most amazing creatures on the planet, Odd Couples sheds astonishing light on what it means to be male or female in the animal kingdom.
A personal journey into our evolving relationships with animals, and a thought-provoking look at how those bonds are being challenged and reformed across disciplines We love animals, but does that make the animals' lives any happier? With factory farms, climate change and deforestation, this might be the worst time in history to be an animal. If we took animals' experiences seriously, how could we eat, think and live differently? How to Love Animals is a lively and important portrait of our evolving relationship with animals, and how we can share our planet fairly. Mance works in a slaughterhouse and on a pig farm to explore the reality of eating meat and dairy. He explores our dilemmas over hunting wild animals, over-fishing the seas, visiting zoos and saving wild spaces. What might happen if we extended the love we show to our pets to other sentient beings? In an age of extinction and pandemics, our relationship with animals has become unsustainable. Mance argues that there has never been a better time to become vegetarian or vegan, and that the conservation movement can flourish, if people in wealthy countries shrink their footprint. Mance seeks answers from chefs, farmers, activists, philosophers, politicians and tech visionaries who are redefining how we think about animals. Inspired by the author's young daughters, his book is a story of discovery and hope that outlines how we can find a balance with animals that fits with our basic love for them.
Birds do it, bees do it — every member of the animal kingdom does it, from fruit flies to blue whales. But if you think humans have a tough time dating, try having to do it while being hunted down by predators, against a backdrop of unpredictable and life-threatening conditions. The animal kingdom is a wild place – and it’s got mating habits to match. The sex lives of our animal cousins are fiendishly difficult, infinitely varied, often incredibly violent — and absolutely fascinating.In Wild Sex, Dr. Carin Bondar takes readers on an enthralling tour of the animal kingdom as she explores the diverse world of sex in the wild. She looks at the evolution of sexual organs (and how they’ve shaped social hierarchies), tactics of seduction, and the mechanics of sex. She investigates a wide range of topics, from whether animals experience pleasure from sex to what happens when females hold the reproductive power. Along the way, she encounters razor-sharp penises, murderous carnal cannibals, and spontaneous chemical warfare in an epic battle between the sexes.The resulting book is titillating, exhilarating, amusing, petrifying, alluring — and absolutely guaranteed to make you think about sex in a whole new way.
A fierce, funny, and revolutionary look at the queens of the animal kingdom Studying zoology made Lucy Cooke feel like a sad freak. Not because she loved spiders or would root around in animal feces: all her friends shared the same curious kinks. The problem was her sex. Being female meant she was, by nature, a loser. Since Charles Darwin, evolutionary biologists have been convinced that the males of the animal kingdom are the interesting ones—dominating and promiscuous, while females are dull, passive, and devoted. In Bitch, Cooke tells a new story. Whether investigating same-sex female albatross couples that raise chicks, murderous mother meerkats, or the titanic battle of the sexes waged by ducks, Cooke shows us a new evolutionary biology, one where females can be as dynamic as any male. This isn‘t your grandfather’s evolutionary biology. It’s more inclusive, truer to life, and, simply, more fun.
ABOUT THE BOOK Jared Diamonds Why is Sex Fun? is sexual anthropology for the layman. As he says in the quote from his preface above, hes speculating, not lecturing. He does it with wisdom, humor and a lot of insight based on research and a deep appreciation for his subject matter. He tackles topics we normally dont think about, like why only women lactate, or why we have sex when a woman isnt fertile. He writes through a combination of historical, emotional, and anthropological perspectives. His aim is to enlighten and explain, and he does it by weaving together current scientific understanding and research with his own unique brand of extrapolation. Because of his background as a scientist, he takes the tone of an academic paper, but transcends the dry delivery that dooms most research. He stops short of pop science, a la Freakanomics or Malcolm Gladwell. Hes not just riffing possible theories from the research that others have done. Hes extending the inquiry and looking for answers to broad questions. MEET THE AUTHOR Scott James has a degree in English and has worked as a teacher, lecturer and editor for over a decade. He is a published author and poet, and freelances as a self-publishing and marketing consultant for start-ups. He lives in San Francisco with his wife. EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK In Why is Sex Fun?, Jared Diamond tackles a series of questions about human sexuality that are not easily explained by evolution. In each chapter he presents a question, explains why it is not easily answered (or not as easily answered as some scientists would have us believe), lays out several opposing points of view, and works through his reasoning As humans, we tend to think that whatever other animals do is strange, but Diamond makes it clear from the beginning that when it comes to sex, we are the strange ones. We pair up for the long-term, share parental care, live close to other couples, have sex in private, hide ovulation, and get menopause. He lays out the argument that natural selection maximizes the transmission of genes, and for humans, doing that has meant developing sexual and reproductive behaviors that diverge dramatically from our closest animal relatives. Diamond seems to suggest that the rest of the animal kingdom looks at us and wonders, why do they do that?! Diamond moves into even more contentious territory, delving into the Battle of the Sexes. Here he looks at why men and women have evolved to take on different roles in sexual reproduction and resulting child-rearing. Youll find no equal right arguments here; he makes a subtle case for gender roles having at least some basis in evolutionary necessity. CHAPTER OUTLINE Quicklet on Jared Diamond's Why is Sex Fun? + About the Book + About the Author + Overall Summary + Chapter-by-Chapter Summaries + ...and much more
You're crazy ... She'll take over and shove us out. I can just see this place in winter: no carpets, acres of wet newspaper underfoot, family huddled under blankets while the pig hogs the fire.' Richard and Bookey Peek hadn't planned on a warthog, any more than one would plan a tidal wave, a tornado or triplets, but on Stone Hills game sanctuary, natural disasters have a way of happening when you least expect them. Through Zimbabwe's darkest hours, Stone Hills has become a world in itself, a place where you might share your shower with an owl or your bed with a baby squirrel. Take a fresh look at the hospitality game with a couple whose crocodiles are named after unpopular guests. And follow the barefoot young David and his playmate, the warthog Poombi, as she relinquishes her place on the sofa to return to the wild - much to her indignation. Engaging and delightfully readable, this is a testament to one family's passion for Africa's wildlife and their conviction that nothing can change the essential nature of the land and its people. All the Way Home is the exhilarating and intensely moving story of a fiercely protected piece of Africa in the heart of the majestic Matobo Hills.
Men and women have long sought different things. The result? Seemingly inevitable conflict. Yet we belong to the most cooperative species on the planet. Isn't there a way we can use this capacity to achieve greater harmony and equality between the sexes? In "The War of the Sexes", Paul Seabright draws on biology, sociology, anthropology, and economics to argue that there is -- but first we must understand how the tension between conflict and cooperation developed in our remote evolutionary past, how it shaped the modern world, and how it still holds us back, both at home and at work. -- From publisher's description.
In this innovative celebration of diversity and affirmation of individuality in animals and humans, Joan Roughgarden challenges accepted wisdom about gender identity and sexual orientation. A distinguished evolutionary biologist, Roughgarden takes on the medical establishment, the Bible, social science—and even Darwin himself. She leads the reader through a fascinating discussion of diversity in gender and sexuality among fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and mammals, including primates. Evolution's Rainbow explains how this diversity develops from the action of genes and hormones and how people come to differ from each other in all aspects of body and behavior. Roughgarden reconstructs primary science in light of feminist, gay, and transgender criticism and redefines our understanding of sex, gender, and sexuality. Witty, playful, and daring, this book will revolutionize our understanding of sexuality. Roughgarden argues that principal elements of Darwinian sexual selection theory are false and suggests a new theory that emphasizes social inclusion and control of access to resources and mating opportunity. She disputes a range of scientific and medical concepts, including Wilson's genetic determinism of behavior, evolutionary psychology, the existence of a gay gene, the role of parenting in determining gender identity, and Dawkins's "selfish gene" as the driver of natural selection. She dares social science to respect the agency and rationality of diverse people; shows that many cultures across the world and throughout history accommodate people we label today as lesbian, gay, and transgendered; and calls on the Christian religion to acknowledge the Bible's many passages endorsing diversity in gender and sexuality. Evolution's Rainbow concludes with bold recommendations for improving education in biology, psychology, and medicine; for democratizing genetic engineering and medical practice; and for building a public monument to affirm diversity as one of our nation's defining principles.
