Boy or Girl? A Female Lemur's Scent Reveals Her Baby's Gender

The scent of a female lemur indicates whether she is carrying a female or male cub. The lemur is the first species in which a correlation has been demonstrated between the mother's scent and the gender of the expected child. Females expecting a boy smell differently from those expecting a girl. Lemurs smell musky. This scent is composed of hundreds of pheromones and other substances that change during pregnancy. Expectant females emit simpler scents compared to their pre-pregnancy scents. This change is more pronounced when a female is expecting a son . Researchers at the University of California reached this conclusion after using woolen cotton swabs to collect scented secretions from the genital areas of 12 female ring-tailed lemurs—before and during pregnancy. These changes correspond to blood hormone levels, which fluctuate dramatically during pregnancy. The hormonal profile of a mother expecting a son differs radically from that of a mother expecting a daughter. Scientists have not yet determined why the scent of pregnant women is less complex when the baby is male. Previous studies have shown that scent conveys information to animals about gender and fertility, among other things.