Male Chimps Prefer Older Females, as Does Ashton Kutcher

Although many guys I know call Justin Timberlake a chump, very few would refer to him as a chimp; in fact I may be the first person to make this connection. Timberlake has been one of the poster boys for a fairly new social phenomenon - younger males dating older females - which a new anthropology study shows to be commonplace in the chimpanzee world.

Throughout history males of the human species have been mating with younger females. The reason that this inclination has been socially accepted is because it makes biological sense, to a certain extent. As the female members of our species age, they become less fertile and experience menopause (the latter making them extremely hard to date or even be around). Homosapian nature also prefers long-term bonding mainly because choosing a younger mate ensures that fertility will last for a longer span of the relationship. So in evolutionary terms, this means that males prefer younger females because they offer a greater potential for creating offspring.

However, the mating patterns of our closest living genetic relative, the chimpanzee, are quite different from our own. Male chimpanzees actually prefer older females. Researchers believe that this sexual predisposition occurs because as chimp females age, they become more fertile and don't experience menopause. This biological advantage coupled with sexual experience and child-rearing familiarity, causes male chimps to go bananas for the older females. Researches found that while older chimp females were required to do very little for the attention of their male counterparts, the younger chimpettes were forced to practically beg for the chimp cock.