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effects far more than just how many feathers you lose. It readjusts your
lifestyle, your chances of survival, your sex life, and your physiology.
The pecking order can determine whether you live or die.
According to the father of sociobiology, E.O. Wilson, the highest wood
pigeons in a pecking order go to bed at night with a full stomach. The
birds on the bottom frequently don't. The lower-class pigeons perch on
the evening roost with a meager meal working its way through their
gut--just enough fuel to carry them through the night. If the weather
grows unusually cold or if they don't find food the next day, some of
those birds on the underside of the heap may not make it alive. On the
other hand, the comfortable birds on the top of the tree nearly always
manage in even the most troubled times. Their right to all the best
food and lodging makes sure of that fact.57
Pecking order privileges include sex. Three male and three
female rats were left alone in a cage to battle out their social system and
sleep with whomever they liked. Two males lost out in the struggle for
top position. They apparently also ended up with an empty dating
calendar. When the females gave birth and their pups were examined,
it turned out that all of them had been sired by the one dominant male.
The experiment was run another twenty-one times, with different
rodent participants on each occasion. The final result: the dominant
rats managed to father a walloping 92% of the young.58
Where you end up in the pecking order can even change your
physical makeup. A dominant male monkey has a higher sperm
count, more visible testicles, and a far more regal posture. The
monkeys who don't make it to the top skulk around stoop-shouldered
and less sexually potent. But if some meddling researcher kidnaps the
ruling simian and leaves his lordly spot vacant, the round-shouldered
subordinates will grab for the empty throne. The monkey who ends
up on top will undergo a change. His testicles will drop. His sperm
count will climb. And his hunched posture will melt away, replaced
by an authoritative upright strut. The new king of the castle goes
through a biological transformation...simply because he's moved up on
s yielded some startling revelations. Position in the pecking order
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