ABSTRACT
Most female primates are pregnant or lactating for most of their adult lives. It may seem remarkable that they devote so much time and energy to reproduction, but if you stop to consider the long gestation periods followed by long periods of infant dependency that characterize most primate life histories, it is easy to see how producing an offspring translates into months of investment, and how with each successive offspring these months quickly add up to years (Figure 7.1). Avoiding predators to stay alive and finding enough water and food to sustain themselves, reproduce, and give their dependents a good start in life is nearly a full-time job for females.
