That's right, female baboons are on the pill... kind of. For some reason the female olive baboons of Nigeria ingest high amounts of black plums containing natural phyto-progestogens which are similar to the synthetic progestogens found in the pill. Patricia Whitten who is a primatologist from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia seems to think the female baboons utilize this fruit to cut back on mating so that they will not contract diseases as this is the rainy season and the probability of contracting diseases is higher.
You can read more here.
Some questions:
-What are your thoughts on contraception?
-Could it be possible that during that rainy season, the plums also grow and therefore provide an abundance of fruit for the baboons to eat which in turn pumps the baboon full of phyto-progestogens?
-Why is it if there are natural ways to control birth our society opts for synthetics?
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