More Proof We Are Decended From Apes

Wild chimps who regularly gave away food were twice as successful with females as their rivals, scientists found. Remember that the next time you bitch about having to take a lady on a dinner date.

Researchers say that their study adds to proof that the animals can plan over the long-term. Previous studies have shown that males chimps often share their meat with females who do not go out to hunt. Although researchers had long speculated that this generosity was used to increase their chances of mating, there was little evidence that this was the case.

But new research, carried out in the Ivory Coast, shows that the males who shared meat were twice as likely to mate as those who did not. Researchers also found that males shared food even when female chimps where not "in heat".

"Our results strongly suggest that wild chimpanzees exchange meat for sex, and do so on a long-term basis," said one observer of the chimps. "Males who shared meat with females doubled their mating success, whereas females, who had difficulty obtaining meat on their own, increased their caloric intake, without suffering the energetic costs and potential risk of injury related to hunting. These findings are bound to have an impact on our current knowledge about relationships between men and women."