Female bums are the subject of much attention from the male members of the community and with good reason. They are a sign of her health and fertility. Females with a good quality bum have children younger, more of them and they are healthier but it comes at a price. A bum is an expensive part of the anatomy. It takes a lot of calories to develop a bum that is attractive to males contributing approximately 14% to body weight.

Whether they realise it or not, males find a big bum very attractive. Males compete fiercely with each other for large-bottomed females and a big bum is probably the most prominant way a female can advertise herself.

Scientists have been studying this for sometime but a significant problem has been the way you quantify the measurement of a female baboons backside. (Oh, didn't I mention I was talking about baboons? Well never mind.)

Leah Domb, of Harvard University, and Mark Pagel, of Britain's University of Reading are working on a system as you read. They are analysing female baboons in Gombe National Park, Tanzania, where the baboons have been studied since 1967. Part of their research is to match the size of a baboon's behind to her breeding history.

To read more about it click here.