Baboon rumps signal quality of motherhood

By comparing female baboons’ rumps, a male can spot those potential mates best suited for motherhood, say researchers in England.

In females of about 10 percent of primate species, bare areas of their rears swell as they near ovulation. In olive baboons, Papio cynocephalus anubis, water retention in posterior tissues can add 12 percent to a female’s weight.