Monogamy (Or Lack Of Monagamy) In The Animal Kingdom
There are a few faithful animals, but very few, and human beings are not on the list. From Wired:
“While it’s a goal for many humans, faithful love is a rarity in the animal kingdom. DNA fingerprinting — essentially paternity tests for animals — has revealed that many species once thought to be truly monogamous are actually better described as socially monogamous. This means that a male and female form a pair bond, mate, raise their young together, and spend time together, but may also engage in a little mating on the side.
Monogamous animals form pair bonds that may last a single breeding season to a lifetime. Scientists estimate that less than five percent of the approximately 4,000 mammal species practice any form of monogamy. Before DNA fingerprinting, it was assumed that about 90 percent of bird species were truly monogamous. But testing showed that most of those species are just socially monogamous, and frequently engage in so-called “extra-pair copulations.” Even swans, those symbols of romantic love and fidelity, were recently shown to participate in trysts outside of their pair bonds.
So who are the truly monogamous animals out there? The identities of some of these faithful creatures might surprise you.”