News Animals

In the animal kingdom, what does it mean to be promiscuous?

There’s little consensus over the use of the word in scientific studies, an analysis shows

greater prairie chicken

WHO ME?  Bird scientists consider species like the greater prairie chicken to be promiscuous because the birds have no relationship with their sexual partners beyond copulation.

JackVandenHeuvel/iStockphoto

By Betsy Mason

- More than 2 years ago

MILWAUKEE — When it comes to the sex lives of animals, scientists have a slate of explicit terms to describe the proclivities of species.