- The topi antelope, or Damaliscus lunatisi, gives off a very distinct snort when it spies predators, an evolutionary adaption allowing it to warn the rest of its pack of predatory presence.
- When females undergo ovulation, they often move quickly from mate to mate, often preventing some male topi from mating at all, but the males have begun to combat this by giving off a false "predator alert".
- This often causes the female to be put off guard and stay nearer to the male to protect herself, resulting in a second chance for the male to pass his genes on.
- During field tests where recordings of true and false male "warning call" was played out of a loudspeaker from a car window, scientists like Jakob Bro-Jørgensen found that the females were unable to distinguish between the two, despite the high frequency at which males pull of this trick.
- As Bro-Jørgensen said, "The lie is so blatant that it is quite amusing."
Reflection:
Naturally, I never would have picked this article before the sex unit, but now that I am reading, I realize that it really is a quite amazing study. After all, in class we have reviewed many means by which males attract mates, whether it be by beauty like the peacocks, or strength like chimpanzees, this is the first time I have ever really heard of an animal pulling a trick on the opposite gender. Of course, in the article they liken this behavior to humans, such as when a guy uses a scary movie to get his girlfriend to move towards him for security. Articles like this, where human and animal behavior is connected, have really made me start to see just how close humans are to animals. This also makes me start to see the worth in having so many articles, after all, this is a bit like one big puzzle, that we must piece together. If I had only read one or two articles for example, I would never have noticed all of the similarities that people share with the animal "ancestors".
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