For some lovebirds in the animal kingdom, every day is Valentine's Day, despite climate change threatening reproduction. In love, every creature has its own techniques and some could prove useful even for us bipeds looking for a partner. So, if you're looking for a way to impress someone special (or a list of things not to do), try one of these 15 mating rituals.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
For some lovebirds in the animal kingdom, every day is Valentine's Day, despite climate change threatening reproduction. In love, every creature has its own techniques and some could prove useful even for us bipeds looking for a partner.
So, if you're looking for a way to impress someone special (or a must-do list), try one of these 15 mating rituals.
Index
Capuchin monkey
If she wants to grab a male's attention, she'll ston him! This is the strategy of some female Capuchin monkeys in Brazil, who throw stones at high-ranking males to get their attention.
READ: Stoned males: the extreme courtship of some Brazilian monkeys (VIDEO)
Cichlid fish
The cichlid fish that live in Lake Malawi in East Africa build sand castles to impress women and intimidate other males. Each of the 200 species in this family does this using a slightly different shape. The fish carries all that sand with its mouth. This is a proof of love!
Lira bird
Ask any heartthrob for confirmation. Girls go crazy for good-looking singers, and the superb lyrebird is the Elvis of feathered animals. These birds can sing other birds and even human sounds, from babies crying to the noise of chainsaws. Furthermore, they do not neglect the image: each builds a circular “stage”, where he dances and sings to attract females.
Yellow fever mosquito
The yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) is a blood-sucking insect that can transmit excruciating diseases, but it is also very, very romantic. A 2009 study by researchers at Cornell University found that males and females regulate the frequency of their wingbeats until the sounds harmonize. It is a truly unique courtship for couples.
Gardener bird
Bowerbirds, which live in Australia and New Guinea, build large and elaborate pergolas to attract females. The structure can appear as a cabin or as a corridor with two neat rows of branches. Then they decorate it with natural materials including shells, stones and feathers of other birds.
READ: Gardening birds: when the birds cultivate the garden for beauty
Magnificent frigate
In addition to swaying their heads, flapping their wings, males gather in large numbers to expose the red throat sac and make it vibrate. The female chooses her mate and they will form a monogamous pair for one breeding season.
Bonobo
Let's be blunt: bonobos know what pleasure means. Like humans, they do not engage in sexual activity solely for reproductive purposes. They can mate with members of the same sex, and they can do so multiple times in a day. Females can also mate with multiple males in their social group, except with their offspring.
Flamingos
Female Flamingos engage in an impressive and elaborate "dance" to attract brands. But they don't do it alone. Once grouped in huge colonies of 5.000 or even 100.000 individuals, flamingos move in sequence. A truly impressive sight.
Hippos
Here's an example of what not to do on Valentine's Day. To attract a mate, male hippos pee and defecate at the same time. Then, they use their tails to spread the smell around and spray the females.
Porcupines
Porcupines don't want chocolate or flowers for Valentine's Day, they want urine. Females signal males that they are ready to mate with urine markings and mucus. The male will then travel great distances to compete and fight for her.
Penguins
According to George Murray Levick, British surgeon and explorer who took part in Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova expedition to Antarctica between 1911 and 1912, penguins engage in sexual coercion, sexual and physical abuse of chicks, non-reproductive sex and homosexual behavior. . Deeming this too explicit for the society of the time, the doctor wrote some passages even in Greek to mask the information. Certainly the opposite of what you have to do on Valentine's Day, as always. Too bad, however, that the explorer saw the interactions between penguins through a decidedly anthropomorphic lens.
READ: Those sexual acts between penguins that shocked the polar explorer
Praying mantises
We hope your Valentine's Day doesn't end like this. Some species of praying mantis engage in sexual cannibalism. In practice, females eat the male's head during or after mating.
Albatros
The Albatros really makes all the right moves when it comes to courtship. When birds find a desired mate - one they will stay with all their lives - they dance, strut, point their beaks skyward, and make noises.
Peacock spider
Do you want to wear elegant and colorful jewels to woo? The male of the peacock spider will still be hard to beat: its fantastic decorations are all natural and serve, of course, to attract females.
READ also: Peacock spider, the most beautiful spider in the world
Roberta Ragni
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Black Valentine's Day for Animals: Climate Change Alters Reproduction
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