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For monkey dads, parenthood trumps call to be wild

The prospect of wild monkey sex, even among wild monkeys, apparently diminishes in allure if the consenting primates are parents. UW-Madison researchers focusing on marmoset fathers found their testosterone levels “barely wavered” in response to the scent of a female, while hormone levels erupted in the nonparent males. The results, released in a report Wednesday and published in the January issue of Hormones and Behavior, surprised the scientists because not only was it a unique demonstration of testosterone response to a social situation, it was not the response everyone expected.