Daily Nature News with me, Russ Swan. A lot of us humans worry about putting on weight, but if you're a squirrel monkey on the pull, well, it might help you get lucky. Squirrel monkeys live in the tropical forests of Central and South America. They're small, intelligent and undeniably cute animals that are sometimes kept as pets. They make terrible pets, and they belong in the wild. Put in your home. Don't do that During their mating season, male squirrel monkeys put on quite a lot of weight, and nobody is entirely sure why. It could be that the ones that put on the most weight will have the most success with the ladies. It might be something to do with their hormones, getting them ready for mating. But with weight gain as a side effect, it could be to help them establish seniority between the males to win access to the females. Or it could be something entirely coincidental. Maybe there's more rich fruit around at that time of year. For instance, to answer the question, biology professor J. C. Buckner from the University of Texas at Arlington is embarking on a four year study. Her lab will perform DNA analysis to see if the females preferentially choose heavier partners to give them healthier offspring. They will also look at other possible causes of weight gain. Team members will spend months in the forest making observations and will perform paternity tests in newborns to establish their parentage. At the end of all of this, we should finally know whether the females think that a chunky monkey is hunky more nature news tomorrow.

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