An erotic interlude

Below is a detailed observation of two rhesus monkeys having sex. It seems clear that there is much more going on than a simple act of mating. This seems just another instance of animals with complex minds interacting in ways that make sense from a human perspective. Even in erotica, it seems that we see behavior in animals that maps closely with behavior in ourselves.

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C.R. Carpenter was an early primate researcher. His observations and descriptions of the natural behavior of primates, rhesus monkeys in particular, are classics. He established the rhesus colony on Cayo Santiago, an island off the coast of Puerto Rico (now part of the Caribbean Primate Research Center); he released the first monkeys there in December 1938, three month after capturing them in India.

Carpenter was among the first to acknowledge that the demand for rhesus monkeys by American labs would decimate the Indian population if maintained at its then current rate. India eventually banned primate exports, though there is a current effort to reverse the ban.

Carpenter said that the process of delivering rhesus monkeys to US labs entailed “deplorable conditions.” His recommendations included establishing breeding colonies here. [Rhesus monkeys for American laboratories, Science September 27, 1940. In Naturalistic Behavior of Nonhuman Primates.]

COPULATION SERIES BETWEEN OM-1 AND f73

[Sexual behavior of free ranging rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta), Journal of Comparative Psychology, February, 1942. In Naturalistic Behavior of Nonhuman Primates, C.R. Carpenter. Pennsylvania State University Press. 1964. p 309.]

Time: 9:26 a.m. First mounting (1) 2 thrusts, yawning by the male; interval 1 min., (2) 1 thrust, more yawning by the male; interval 1 min., (3) 3 thrusts, yawning, self grooming by the male; interval 2 min., (4) 2 thrusts, female crouching and extremely submissive; interval 30 sec, (5) 4 thrusts; interval 30 sec, (6) 2 thrusts; interval 1 min., (7) 3 thrusts; interval 1 min., (8) 2 thrusts; interval 1 min., (9) 2 thrusts, rather quick movement of hands and head by female; interval 3 min., (10) 3 thrusts, female grooming male; interval 1 min., (11) 3 thrusts; interval 30 sec, (12) 3 thrusts, female grooming male; interval 1 min., (13) 3 thrusts, female grooming male; interval 30 sec, (14) 4 thrusts, squeal by female; interval 1 !/2 min., (15)5 thrusts, female shows quick, jerky movement of right arm and sidewise turning of head; interval 30 sec, (16) 6 thrusts, female purses her lips and turns her face to the male, slight attack in the form of a slap by male; interval 1 min., (17) 5 thrusts, squeal by the female, male yawns; interval 1 min., (18) 4 thrusts, male slaps the female upon dismounting, at almost all intervals now female shows jerky arm reflex; interval 30 sec, (19) 3 thrusts; interval 2 min., (20) 5 thrusts; interval 30 sec, (21) 4 thrusts, after each mounting with intro mission the male squeals; interval 30 sec, (22) 3 thrusts, male squeals; interval 30 sec, (23) 3 thrusts, male squeals; interval 30 sec, (24) 3 thrusts; interval 2 min., (25) 3 thrusts, bluffing, jerky movements of female or her bluff toward the observer or other nearby animals stimulate the male to begin mounting; interval 1 min., (26) 3 thrusts; interval 1 min., (27) 5 thrusts, slight attack made by male on female; interval 2 min., (28) 5 thrusts, another mild attack, intromission squeal by male; interval 1 min., (29) 5 thrusts; interval 30 sec, (30) 7 thrusts, squeal; interval l'/4 min., (31) 5 thrusts; interval 3 0 sec, (32) 4 thrusts; interval 30 sec, (33) 7 thrusts; interval 30 sec, (34) 7 thrusts; interval 20 sec, (35) 5 thrusts; interval 1min., (36) 5 thrusts; interval 30 sec, (37) 22 thrusts, rigidity in male with ejaculation and squeal. The female turns her head to the right and upward as if trying to put her mouth to that of the male. Immediately on dismounting, the female begins to groom the male. Time 10:06. Total time elapsed 40 minutes.