# Birth Control **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 17, 2000, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633 "2000-11-17T18:49:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HalberMensch242](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecb155/32.png) [@HalberMensch242](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HalberMensch242)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/1 "2000-11-17T18:49:58Z")
Hello hello felow doppers. I was just wondering if any other animals, beside humans, practice any forms of birth control? And…i guess in a related manner…do any other animals engage in sex for the sake of pleasure and not for the procreation of their species? ---
**Author:** ![scratch1300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@scratch1300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch1300)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/2 "2000-11-17T18:53:53Z")
IIRC, if a rabbit warren has too many pregnant females, they will spontaneously miscarry. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/3 "2000-11-17T18:57:31Z")
IANAE, but if by “birth control” you mean “attempt to prevent pregnancy while having sex,” I doubt it. If, however, you mean population control, well, some animals eat their young. Animals do engage in sexual activities for pleasure. Ever have a dog hump your leg? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/4 "2000-11-17T19:00:24Z")
I have heard that dogs humping your leg is not a pleasure thing; rather, an attempt to assert dominance. ---
**Author:** ![scratch1300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dfb087/32.png) [@scratch1300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scratch1300)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/5 "2000-11-17T19:03:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fear Itself \* > \*\*I have heard that dogs humping your leg is not a pleasure thing; rather, an attempt to assert dominance. \*\* Oh yeah? Take a good look at your dog’s face the next time he tries it – the retracted lips, the glassy-eyed stare – certainly looks like lust to me. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/6 "2000-11-17T19:16:04Z")
I have a vague recollection of a college biology professor claiming in wolf packs only the lead female breeds. If a lower females comes into heat, the lead will “service” the male, rather than let another female produce pups. I also seem to recall the same professor claiming that in very bad food-supply years the pack would not have any pups, because the lead female would not let anybody have sex. Other than avoiding sex (not always possible) I don’t think any other species practices birth control. I believe that some species will engage in non-procreative or homosexual sex play (dolphins and donkey were cited in an article I read, again way back in college), but I don’t know where to point you to good research on the subject. ---
**Author:** ![Starbury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f04885/32.png) [@Starbury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starbury)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/7 "2000-11-17T19:28:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scratch1300 \* > \*\*IIRC, if a rabbit warren has too many pregnant females, they will spontaneously miscarry. \*\* I don’t know if this is a scientifically accurate source, but in _Watership Down_, Richard Adams said that the pregnant rabbit actually digests the baby (or babies, I guess) before it is born, if there is overpopulation. ---
**Author:** ![Beadalin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/8 "2000-11-17T19:36:06Z")
Dolphins and some primates have sex for pleasure’s sake, but humans are the only primate to practice birth control (as far as I know, anyway). ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/9 "2000-11-17T20:37:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by HalberMensch242 \* > \*\*do any other animals engage in sex for the sake of pleasure and not for the procreation of their species? \*\* I saw a PBS documentary a few years ago. Their conclusion was that wolves, dogs, some cetaceans (like dolphins), and the anthropoid apes are the only animals that engage in social (i.e., nonreproductive) sex. Bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees) are probably the most sexual species on the face of the earth. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2000, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/10 "2000-11-17T21:16:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xtal \* > \*\*I also seem to recall the same professor claiming that in very bad food-supply years the pack would not have any pups, because the lead female would not let anybody have sex. > \*\* Human women don’t conceive when their fat % is too low–could this be the reason wolves wouldn’t reproduce when food is low? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/11 "2000-11-18T00:30:22Z")
Gigi correctly asserts: \>Human women don’t conceive when their fat % is too low– \>could this be the reason wolves wouldn’t reproduce when \>food is low? I believe my professor’s point was the female wolves would not participate in sex, not that they had sex, but did not conceive. Considering what a _very_ low amount of body fat you have to get down to before you stop ovulating I don’t think the wolves can measure that accurately. Life is hard when you’ve got no thumbs. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/12 "2000-11-18T02:22:28Z")
Humans are the only animal that has sex for any reason _other_ than pleasure. If you asked a dog why it has sex, it wouldn’t say “so I can have puppies”, it would say “because it feels good”. OK, so the dog would probably just say “Arf! Row row row”, but that’s the translation. ---
**Author:** ![peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peace)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/13 "2000-11-18T03:08:20Z")
Chronos, speak for yourself.\<\\> You may have sex for “any other reason”, I have mine because of pleasure. I have children for other reasons (at one time, though, I thought for pleasure, too, but mostly they bring me trouble). ---
**Author:** ![Commander\_Fortune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Commander\_Fortune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commander_Fortune)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/14 "2000-11-18T08:53:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees) are probably the most sexual species on the face of the earth. You do mean beside us humans, right? ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/15 "2000-11-18T09:09:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Commander Fortune \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > Bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees) are probably the most sexual species on the face of the earth. > > You do mean beside us humans, right? \*\* Nope, I do believe that the bonobos have us beat. They don’t seem to have any moralistic qualms about having any type of sex, unlike us human types. I don’t think there’s a single instance of one bonobo waggling a finger at another bonobo’s behavior. Instead, bonobo A is taking notes, and asking “Can I join in?” ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/16 "2000-11-18T14:53:01Z")
I saw a documentary on the bonobo. Because they are eerily humanlike, it was like watching a porno with extremely ugly people. They had sex all the time in every way I could imagine, and in some ways that I couldn’t. > [@](#): > > …in very bad food-supply years the pack would not have any pups, because the lead female would not let anybody have sex. Bitch. Seriuously though, the body fat thing mentioned by gigi probably has something to do with it. When body fat drops too low the menstrual cycle is put on hold. I’m pretty sure that wolves go into heat as a response to the hormonal changes that accompany ovulation. However, due to variation within the species, in some situations only some of the females will stop ovualting, this is where the lead female might have to keep others from giving it up. Human females also get a little more amorous when ovulating. If you’d like to see me speaking on this very subject. [Click here](http://idirector.media.ibeam.com/real/mere001_whns/news/lifematters105.ram). I’m the guy in the green shirt. My girlfriend is going to kill me now. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2000, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/17 "2000-11-18T19:44:33Z")
Actually, **peace** , I meant what I said. While most humans do have sex primarily for pleasure, there are a few who do it specifically because they consciously desire offspring. ---
**Author:** ![Gaspode](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/aeb1de/32.png) [@Gaspode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gaspode)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/18 "2000-11-19T01:45:41Z")
There was a great article in ‘New Scientist’ a couple of years agao about animals engaging in non-reproductive sex, perticularly homosexual. The list as I recall involved not only anthropoid apes and cetaceans, but several species of monkeys, rats and various bird species including terns and swans. As for animals practicing birth conrol, most mammals won’t conceive if their condition is too poor. Quite a few marsupials actually take this to the stage of true birth control. Female macropods (kangaroos and the like) will mate and concieve in almost any condition, but are able to put the development of the embryo on hold. In this way a female can remain pregnant for an indefinite time period and when conditions are again favourable resume development of the embryo and give birth. The triggers for this are poorly understood, but it seems that while food supply and body condition are important factors, other stressors such as overpopulation or ‘emotional’ upset can also stall development. Seems to meet all the definitions of birth control that I can think of. And yes rabbits will at least partially resorb the tissues of aborted young, as will all oestral animals (as opposed to menstrual animals like primates), the same thing occurs with sheep, cats and armadillos. ---
**Author:** ![peace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@peace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peace)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/19 "2000-11-19T01:57:34Z")
Humans are the only animal that has sex for any reason other than pleasure. there are a few who do it specifically because they consciously desire offspring. To me, these are totally different statesments. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2000, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633/20 "2000-11-19T03:32:06Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t know if this is a scientifically accurate source, but in Watership Down, Richard Adams said that the pregnant rabbit actually digests the baby (or babies, I guess) before it is born, if there is overpopulation. Richard Adams got this from R.M. Lockley’s _The Private Life of the Rabbit_, a now out of print discourse into just about every aspect of rabbit biology you could hope to read about. According to the book, rabbits will re-absorb fertilized embryos back into the body if the warren is over populated. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/birth-control/41633.md?page=2)