Asif A. Ghazanfar at Asterisk Magazine:
My younger brother — middle-aged, heterosexual, and single — just moved to Atlanta. He’s a handsome guy, intelligent, funny, and keeps in great shape. Loves to flirt. The problem? He’s in the online dating pool trap, and the bulk of his real-world social interactions occur in the gym. My wife and I, helpfully we think, suggest that he needs to get a dog. But our reasons are different.
My wife thinks if he gets a dog he’d have great companionship. This is true. I think that he should get a dog because it’s a great way to meet women: If you walk around with your dog, you are advertising that you are a responsible caregiver, a great future father. I think a dog could function as a surrogate baby.
I’ve studied the biology and behavior of fish, rats, lemurs, multiple species of monkeys, and humans. I can tell you that fathers are rare. I’m not talking about male individuals who manage to fertilize an egg. They are plenty. They mate and then they take off to find another mate. I’m talking about males who stick around to care for their offspring in one way or another. Why do so few males across the animal kingdom want to take care of their own offspring, particularly among mammals? What must happen to change a species or an individual so that the male exhibits parental care? Let’s start at the very beginning, with fish.
More here.