Pheromones and social status: Machos smell better

(University of Veterinary Medicine -- Vienna) Male house mice are territorial and scent-mark their territories with urine -- and dominant, territorial males have much greater reproductive success than other males. A study conducted by researchers from Vetmeduni Vienna and published in Scientific Reports now shows that female mice display preferential olfactory attraction to the scent of dominant males, and that dominant males have higher pheromone production than subordinates.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news