> When Niko Tinbergen, the Nobel prizewinning ethologist, was asked how human beings differ from animals he responded, “I wish I knew.”
Another way to see this is that other mammals are no different to humans. They spend most of their time caring for their families and going to work. They do their best to seem attractive to potential mates; they love sex and food; and housing is a very important issue for them, particularly in the context of parenthood and education.
What's it like to be a mammal? You already know. If people who dismiss other animals as inferior would only remember that, the world would be a kinder place.
I generally agree with your post, but I don't think this part is truly accurate. For most mammals, sex is something that happens relatively rarely, only when the female is in heat and the male ruts.
There are also exceptions (bonobos being one of the most well known), but I don't think it's clear that mammals in general enjoy sex in the same way we do.
It's not so much frequency itself - it's all the 'missed opportunities' for having sex, compared to humans. Animals can spend large amounts of time together doing nothing, and only have sex a few times a year. Also, most mammals have extremely short (by human standards) sexual acts, with little or no variation, and they often lose interest immediatelyaafter it's over, possibly for a few months.
All of this to me suggests strongly that their sexual drive is extremely different from our own, for most mammals. My guess is that they probably only feel sexual desire at all during heat/rutting, and that even then, it feels more like hunger to them than pleasure - something to be sated when it happens, not a pleasurable act to enjoy as often as possible. Of course, I'm not claiming this is some deep insight I'm privy to, just some speculation.
Dunno, watch a herd of horse, cows, goats or sheep for a bit. Recreational sexual activity abounds. Llama can apparently talk anything female into spending time with them.
"animals don't have sex" is more a matter of "people don't publish about their study of animal sex" because it'd be seen as weird.
What you're saying makes sense in the context that you're saying it - your own lived experience as a 21st century young adult human being in an affluent country with means.
Married women all around the world will share wry smiles with each other listening to the third sentence of your first para.
Yes, I am aware of the difference the sexual revolution has had on female sexuality in particular. But that doesn't change my larger point - that human society has often (and continues to, in much of the world) stifle women's sexuality does not significantly change my point that human libido is different from that of most mammals.
Most mammals don't have the kind of social structures that could systematically suppress a natural desire. Even if they did, it remains true that the lack of libido affects both females and males in most mammals, it's not limited to some individuals.
And promiscuity, at the very least for men, has been a constant throughout human history and around the world, with very few exceptions. The same is true of homosexuality by the way, another form of sexual enjoyment and bonding that is extremely rare among most mammals, while being relatively common in humans.
By the way, our closest extant cousin species, bonobos, also behave much more like humans in terms of sexuality than even other apes do. They obviously do have sex only for the sake of enjoyment, and the difference in sexual behavior is stark compared to something like wolves.
Gorillas don't have that much interest in sex afaik but small mammals with short lives may be another matter. An ethicist wrote that mice take huge risks to get sex.
>> Zooming in on infrequent episodes of sex, what do you imagine goes on in their minds during those occurrences?
"Does he think I'm fat?"
"Oh yeah baby, I'm doing it!"
:trumpets trunk:
Sorry for joking on HN folks. To contribute more seriously to the conversation, watching other animals having sex is one of the most fascinating and most hilarious activities I can imagine. No wonder the relevant filmography is so popular.
Another way to see this is that other mammals are no different to humans. They spend most of their time caring for their families and going to work. They do their best to seem attractive to potential mates; they love sex and food; and housing is a very important issue for them, particularly in the context of parenthood and education.
What's it like to be a mammal? You already know. If people who dismiss other animals as inferior would only remember that, the world would be a kinder place.