Did you know that when it comes to spotted hyenas, the female has a penis-like structure externally identical to that of males? And that the male fruit bats of Malaysia and Borneo have milk-producing mammary glands? Have you ever heard about Jacanas, birds found in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia who practice sex role reversal? Male Jacanas tend the nest, incubate the eggs, and care for offspring. The males wind up doing the expensive part of offspring rearing, even though their original contribution to the offspring is only their sperm, and the females wind up doing less of the offspring rearing, even though they originally contributed the eggs.

If you weren’t aware of these facts that have typically not been included in traditional nature documentaries, you will have the chance to learn about all of them and much more at the upcoming Museum of Sex exhibition, The Sex Lives of Animals. Opening on July 24, 2008, this exhibition will explore the world of animal sexuality and convey how much we humans have in common with our friends in the wild when it comes to having sex for pleasure.

Museum of Sex: 233 Fifth Avenue, NYC