Happy Valentine’s Day!
Monogamy in the wild – it turns out – is rare, comprising only 3-5% of all species of mammal. And what’s more interesting, evolutionary experts can’t fully explain the phenomenon. Why we evolved to share these special bonds is largely a mystery. Perhaps it was a way to protect offspring or to form alliances amid growing populations.
Or, perhaps it is something even harder to explain: love.
In our first story below, we explore stories from a few of Chattanooga’s wild animal residents that mate for life – penguins, gibbons and wolves, among them.
– Sunny Montgomery, editor