While some animals choose a single mate for their entire life and dedicate their lives to it, some animals want to mate with as many species as possible. In the animal kingdom, as in humans, males may perform various rituals, many of which seem strange to us, to impress their females or females their males. Females, on the other hand, are generally in the position of choosers, and they choose according to the courtship tactics of the males and the rituals they perform to prepare for mating.
Homosexuality, hermaphroditism, that is, having both male and female sexual organs, or giving birth to men can also be observed in nature. For example, male seahorses can give birth. Hermaphroditism can be observed in some invertebrates such as worms and sponges.
We have compiled for you the mating rituals of all kinds of creatures in nature in order to influence their mates and ensure the continuation of their genes.
(May contain disturbing photos for those affected by seeing animals such as mice and snakes!)
Interesting mating rituals of animals:
- The male anglerfish disappears into the female’s body.
- Capuchin monkeys’ males smear their own urine on their bodies.
- Snakes have two penises.
- The male of the viper sunbathes before mating.
- Male giraffes drink the urine of their females.
- Anaconda snakes can mate for 1 month.
- Crocodiles are in constant erection.
- Female ducks with spiral vaginas can pinch the penis of males.
- There are three types of males in martial birds.
- Seahorses give birth to males.
- Marsupial mice mate until they die.
- The black widow spider eats its male.
The male anglerfish disappears into the female’s body.
Angler fish were difficult to observe by scientists because they live in deep waters. But in recent years, their mating has been recorded for the first time, and it turns out that they have a rather peculiar mating ritual. Males of anglerfish begin to live on top of their females to mate. They even literally cling to their females. When the male fertilizes the female, they are clamped together, never to be separated again. The male anglerfish disappears into the female’s body and they become one body. You can watch the video of this interesting mating ritual here.
Capuchin monkeys’ males smear their own urine on their bodies.
Capuchin monkeys are one of the most intelligent monkey species. As observed in most monkeys, mating is generally important and their libido is high. When female capuchin monkeys like a male, they may try to attract the male’s attention by throwing stones, making whining noises, pouting, tapping and shaking tree branches. Male capuchin monkeys perform a much more bizarre ritual than females: They may urinate on their bodies to let females know they are ready to mate.
Snakes have two penises.
Male snakes have two hidden penises. Each penis is called hemipenis (half penis). He uses the one he wants during mating, but as a result of the researches, it has been observed that they use their right penis. A common belief has emerged in Anatolia regarding this situation. While the penises of snakes that are ready to mate are erect, people who see them around mistook them for feet and a false belief emerged that ‘snakes have feet’.
The male of the viper sunbathes before mating.
Snakes are also divided into species, and each species can have its own unique mating ritual. One of the most bizarre examples of this might be the viper, because when vipers awaken from hibernation, they are warmed in the sunlight to be ready to mate. The reason for this is to increase sperm production by heating their penis. Also known as the world’s most venomous snake, vipers can also do a mating dance to woo each other.
Male giraffes drink the urine of their females.
The giraffes, which have attracted the attention of people since ancient times thanks to their remarkable appearance, deserve to attract attention with their mating rituals. So much so that when the female is ready to mate, she stands still and waits for the male, then mating takes place. In some cases, the male giraffe may resort to bizarre methods to see if the female is ready to mate. E.g; It’s like drinking your female’s urine.
Anaconda snakes can mate for 1 month.
We mentioned that there may be differences in the mating of snakes according to the species they are separated from. Anacondas are known for being the largest and longest snakes in the world. Apart from this, mating rituals are also quite remarkable. Anaconda snakes can look like a ball during mating, they can hug each other as tightly as possible. The male anaconda wraps around the female as if to kill, and this mating ritual can continue for a long time, about 1 month.
Crocodiles are in constant erection.
Crocodiles are one of the largest creatures of the reptile class. Despite their frightening and cold appearance, they are quite social among themselves. They reproduce by laying eggs, and like most egg-laying creatures, the mother crocodile guards her eggs until the young hatch. Everything is normal so far, but there is an interesting detail that is that the penises of male crocodiles are constantly erect.
Female ducks with spiral vaginas can pinch the penis of males.
Duck mating is widely researched in the scientific world. This is because duck penises and vaginas are of an unusual structure, as well as forced mating. Male ducks outnumber females, so males have a lot of ducks to compete in courtship. In this situation, male ducks may try to ‘forced’ mating with their females. As a precaution, female ducks have a characteristic that is thought to have evolved with the aim of squeezing and crushing the penises of undesirable male ducks, and that is the spiral-shaped vaginas of females.
There are three types of males in martial birds.
There are three types of males in martial birds, namely ruler, satellite and decoy. The rulers of the region, as the name suggests, are the strongest and most aggressive men. Satellite males, on the other hand, are males who live in the region of the ruler and mate by hiding from the males of the regional rulers. The bait males are the worst off. They do not have their own territory, they are very small and may resemble females in appearance. Like satellite males, decoys may mate with females in secret, but they also allow territorial birds to mate with them. For females, no distinction was observed regarding which type of male to choose.
Seahorses give birth to males.
Female seahorses have an organ called the ovipositor, and thanks to this organ, they can lay eggs in the male’s body. The male fertilizes this egg in his own body without expelling it. Meanwhile, the female spends her energy and time to produce new eggs. The reason for all this is that when the male seahorse gives birth to the offspring, the female has the egg ready and can experience new mating immediately after birth.
Marsupial mice mate until they die.
Marsupial mice, whose Latin name is Antechinus, can mate once in a lifetime. This is because mating can take a very long time. So much so that the mating events of marsupial mice can last up to 3 weeks, and during this time, the mouse’s body begins to not be able to withstand it, since the male mouse spends too much energy. Stress and testosterone hormones fill his blood and he dies from immune system weakness.
The black widow spider eats its male.
The black widow spider may be an animal that most people fear because of its appearance. However, apart from his appearance, he has another feature that especially his wives should be afraid of. Black widow spiders kill their male mates by eating them after mating. Although the reason for this is not clearly explained, it is predicted that they instinctively eat their mates as they already feed on insects.
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