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Author says the fathers of zoology were wrong about many of the mothers in the animal kingdom

Lucy Cooke is a zoologist, best-selling author and National Geographic Explorer.
Courtesy of Lucy Cooke
Lucy Cooke is a zoologist, best-selling author and National Geographic Explorer.

There's a long-held belief that, in the animal world, males benefit from promiscuity and females benefit from monogamy.

For centuries, zoologists have thought of males as bold and brave and females as passive. And they've described females as natural, nurturing mothers and males as disinterested parents at best.

Zoologist and best-selling author Lucy Cooke's research has shown that for many animal species, those assumptions are all wrong.

Cooke will speak about gender, patriarchy and the animal kingdom March 27 as part of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden's Barrows Conservation Lecture Series.

She talks with Cincinnati Edition about how many assumptions about the animal kingdom have been wrong all along.

Information about the Barrows Conservation Lecture Series is available online.

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is a financial supporter of Cincinnati Public Radio.

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