Why are humans the only animals that flirt?

Photo: flickr/alyssafilmmakerAs far as scientists can tell, humans are the only animals with "covert sexual signaling" (aka flirting). In many other species, males are very overt about their courtship signals, even to the extent of expensive, colorful displays. The authors of this study hypothesize that flirting is unique to humans because there are socially imposed costs to being too overt with courtship displays. Basically, in certain situations (work, for example, or in front of your crush's spouse), it could be socially costly to be too obvious with attempts to attract a mate. Therefore, humans have developed subtle signals that can potentially go unnoticed by all but the intended recipient. Our question is this: if other animals were to flirt, would we even be able to detect it?Covert sexual signaling: Human flirtation and implications for other social species. "According to signaling theory and a large body of supporting evidence, males across ...