Scientists from the University of Oslo have found that big balls are more likely to mean a fella has an unfaithful partner.

Relationships on Female First

Relationships on Female First

Assistant Professor Petter Bøckman used the example of gorillas, who have "tiny" testicles, they have one male in troops of gorillas, Chimps on the other hand have huge testicles and they who mate in large groups.

As such,chimps have particularly large testicles with the aim of increasing their sperm count, giving them a greater chance of fathering offspring.

Prof. Bøckman, reports that the degree of fidelity in the female can be determinedby looking at the size of the male’s testicles,"

The less faithful the female, the larger the male’s testicles, because the male will only fertilise one female and has no competitors, he will only need enough sperm to reach the egg.

If the female mates on the side it is a good policy to have as many swimmers in the water as possible meaning the male must have testicles that are as large as possible.

Bonobas are a species with the largest testicles and they mate with all the females in a troop so they need to produce an abundant flow of semen, increased amount of sperm - better chance of fathering offspring.

The gorilla troop with only one male and a small harem, has no need for large testicles hence his balls are tiny."

Prof. Bøckman relates this to the size of human testicles which are one and a half times larger than those of gorillas so proves infidelity amongst our species.

He says in his report, "We can pledge our fidelity until we are blue in the face, but this is evidence that our females are cheating.

"We are not like chimpanzees, where the female has four or five sexual partners every time she is in heat, but there is always a certain likelihood that the neighbouring male has dropped by."

It would be interesting if you gave us some feedback on this.


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