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This is all the more impressive because macaques generally display strong sexual dimorphism in size (males are ~45% bigger on average than females, vs. more lik
by rory 5y ago
This is all the more impressive because macaques generally display strong sexual dimorphism in size (males are ~45% bigger on average than females, vs. more like ~15% in humans). I wonder how big Yakei is.
- elliekelly 5y agoI think the article said she’s 10kg but it didn’t say the size of the former alpha male. I wish they had mentioned the size difference for comparison, that’s interesting!
- gambiting 5y agoWell it does say that she roughed up the previous alpha male, so presumably she's at least similar in size/strength.
- tokai 5y agoShe's also 22 years younger than him.
- eadmund 5y agoYou inspired me to the lifespan of Japanese macaques, and it is 27 years; the previous alpha male was 31 years old, which suggests to me that he must have been pretty over the hill. Given that she is smaller than the average male macaque, I imagine that this is not a terribly stable situation.
- ipspam 5y agoInteresting. What are the odds they can set up a livestream so we can watch macaque fight club? I love a good underdog.
- erhk 5y agoI heard yakei was doping, and that she had metal studs implanted in her knuckles
- Blikkentrekker 5y agoA good point; it's entirely possible that this is only a very temporary challenger, who will soon be challenged again, and be defeated.
- labster 5y agoThere should be an anime adaptation of this story: Sukeban Saru
- rory 5y agoOh wow I missed that, thanks for catching. Given these are Japanese macaques, it looks like typical m/f size difference is more like ~32%, not ~45%, and 10kg puts her larger than the average female, but smaller than the average male. Would be interested in the former alpha males size too, but it's probably safe to assume he was bigger! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_macaque https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_macaque
- prvc 5y agoWell, the law of large numbers makes it understandable.
- clairity 5y agoit’s strength, both psychological and physical, that correlates most closely with dominance, not size or gender/sex, though those of course tend to correlate with physical strength. a nice property of sexual reproduction (as opposed to asexual) is that you get two chances at having generalized strength in parents, as opposed to one, which correlates with greater family fitness and offspring survival. this is probably the biggest misconception in mainstream discussions of gender/sex and power (and part of what makes them so tiresome), which threads through everything from affirmative action to sexual harassment to lgbt rights. multidimensional strength fosters dominance, not just gender/sex or simply size. the dominant (or submissive) gender can be performed by either sex. this is foundational for understanding power dynamics (whether sexual, political, economic, social, religious, or anything else).
- yann2 5y agoOk go read about Gandhi now.