Many species have evolved to be as inconspicuous as possible so they are not spotted by predators – but peacocks buck this trend with their long tails and colourful eyespots. These conspicuous features are thought to have evolved because of something called the handicap principle.
This hypothesises that males who are more obvious to predators, or who must expend more energy on a day-to-day basis because of heavy or large features such as tusks or tails, are less able to survive. This means that the ones who do survive must be of very high quality. Females want to mate with these males because their offspring will be more likely to survive and reproduce – which is the aim of the evolutionary game.
In peacocks, males with the longest, showiest tails are at a survival disadvantage compared with their drabber peers – not only are they are more obvious to predators but it takes a lot of energy to lug those long tails around.
Females choose to mate with these showier males as, despite the disadvantage of their dazzling tails, they have managed to survive. The genes encoding fantastic tails and stunning eyespots are therefore passed on through the generations.
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