# Do Other Animals Know Sex=Babies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 1, 2002, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-animals-know-sex-babies/121801 "2002-08-01T02:04:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-animals-know-sex-babies/121801/1 "2002-08-01T02:04:53Z")
This question is actually partly inspired by another Straight Dope question. Someone once asked when humans realized sex=babies. Other animals seems to know when a child is theirs or not. I once heard a story of a male gorillas killing a baby gorilla of his mate when he realized it wasn’t his. So: Do other animals know that sex=babies? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-animals-know-sex-babies/121801/2 "2002-08-01T03:32:14Z")
I seriously doubt it. If dogs understood that copulation would produce unwanted puppies, I’d think we’d be seeing more in-heat bitches locking _themselves_ in their masters’ houses. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-animals-know-sex-babies/121801/3 "2002-08-01T04:22:36Z")
I’ve seen the opposite version of this question: Q: Do any other species besides humans have sex just for the fun of it? A: Yes. All of them. ---
**Author:** ![wooba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/aeb1de/32.png) [@wooba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wooba)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-animals-know-sex-babies/121801/4 "2002-08-01T04:25:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scarlett67 \* > \*\*I’ve seen the opposite version of this question: > > Q: Do any other species besides humans have sex just for the fun of it? > A: Yes. All of them. \*\* I’ve heard on a couple of TV shows that only dolphins and humans have recreational sex. I cannot verify that though… ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-animals-know-sex-babies/121801/5 "2002-08-01T04:40:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jim B. \* > Do other animals know that sex=babies? > > 😃 Research has established that male lions upon securing a pride of females will kill the suckling young of a previous male in order to hasten estrus and receptivity for sex. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2002, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-animals-know-sex-babies/121801/6 "2002-08-01T04:50:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by wooba \* > \*\*I’ve heard on a couple of TV shows that only dolphins and humans have recreational sex. I cannot verify that though… \*\* So how do we explain the monkeys at the zoo? 😃 I have to wonder, though, **grienspace** – in the case of the lions, for example, how much is instinct? I’d have a hard time believing that such behavior is the result of a conscious, reasoned decision. Of course, there’s an article on CNN today that says dogs can do math. (Put three biscuits in your pocket, give the dog two, and see what he does . . .)