Mating season. The strangest mating rituals in animals Mating season in wild animals

Relations during the mating season between the sexes in the animal world deserve special attention. Most of all, of course, animals are driven by instincts during this period. However, not everything is as primitive as it seems - if you carefully study their behavior at this time, you will notice elements of psychology and even some degree of romance. Our smaller brothers, of course, tend to show much more aggression, especially in wild conditions, but they are still characterized by manifestations of care and even affection. Proof of this is the struggle for the favor and attention of the opposite sex. One of the interesting elements of the mating season is the serenade. Males can perform love songs for their females to attract their attention. Thus, a whale’s mating serenade can last more than a day, and gibbons are famous for singing songs very loudly for their chosen ones. Coloring also plays an important role in attracting the opposite sex. Many animals with already bright colors during this period become much more colorful and brighter. Also, in the bodies of many animals, during mating games, pheromones and various odors are released, which draws attention to them and makes them attractive in the eyes of the object of affection. The courtship period is not complete without tactile interaction.

Animals try to touch their chosen ones, thus expressing their sympathy. Seals, for example, may during this period for a long time lying together on the shore, heads gently touching and cheeks shaking, while elephants intertwine their trunks and pinch their partner. During courtship, animals are not averse to presenting some kind of gift to the female they like. For example, penguins give feathers to their ladies. It is also considered a beautiful gesture to leave the largest and most delicious piece of food. Fierce fights for the lady of the heart are common in the animal world. Hippos, for example, can die in such a fight. It even happens that the winning male eats the defeated one! In general, the struggle during this period is serious. Below are examples of the most interesting and bizarre marriage rituals.

Camels

Mantises

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Hippopotamuses

Frigates

Marriage rituals are an integral part of the life of any living creature. Just as there are a huge number of living organisms on the planet, there are also many mating rituals. Some of them are quite cute and beautiful, others are interesting and surprising, but there are also those that we often call very, very strange. Today we would like to present to your attention the strangest mating rituals among animals.

Rose-Ange, Jean,

The list of the strangest mating rituals opens with small, Poisonous snakes from Canada and Northwestern USA ‒ garters . Their very unusual mating takes place in a huge orgy. Hundreds of snakes gather in a large den, in which one female can have up to 100 males. Thus, the female receives the right amount of warmth and protection during fertilization.

In addition, male octopuses from the genus Argonauts much smaller than females (males up to 2 cm, females up to 10 cm), they can mate only once during their lifetime short life. Males use a special tentacle, the hectocotylus, to transfer sperm to the female. For fertilization, the hectocotylus is inserted into the female's mantle cavity and then separated from the octopus.

A very strange mating ritual among lizards whiptails , which are all females. The method of their mating is called parthenogenesis. Each whiptail lizard has an ovarian cycle of 21 to 28 days. During mating season, they synchronize their cycles so that they are opposite. One of the lizards will act as a male and the other as a female. Then they change roles. The result of this mating method is a perfect offspring that is an exact clone of its mother.

Anglerfish have one of the strangest and most unique methods of fertilization. When a male is born who does not have digestive system, he needs to find a female very quickly. When he finds a suitable female, he bites her, and a special enzyme melts her skin, creating a suitable depression for the male. After this, the male becomes simply an appendage for the female, in which a constant supply of sperm is stored for fertilization at the appropriate moment.

ruslou koorts

An equally strange mating ritual occurs in giraffe . The male identifies his female by the taste of her urine. The male giraffe pushes the female's head under her tail, provoking her to urinate. After this, he determines whether she is ready for fertilization by the enzymes in her urine. If the female suits him, then he will pursue her everywhere until he gets what he wants and will also protect her from other males. Well, the female, in turn, can also choose a more suitable candidate.

Ryan Merrill

Porcupine porcupine thinks about sex only 8-12 hours a year. An interested male stands on his hind legs and splashes urine on the female. If she is ready, then with all her appearance she will show the male to get down to business. If the female is not ready, or is not interested in a given male, she will make a screaming sound and shake up the male's urine.

Franco Folini

Banana slugs have penises almost as long as the length of their bodies, which sometimes reaches 30 centimeters. Their Latin name"dolichyphallus" is even translated as "giant penis". They are all hermaphrodites and when it comes time to mate, banana slugs join at opposite ends, trying to fertilize each other. It is very important to choose a partner with the same or comparable penis size, because if the penis does not fit perfectly, it can get stuck in the partner. In this case, another slug simply chews it off.

Paul Rowbotham

Male bee , whose only mission in life is to mate with the queen, takes his job damn seriously. So much so that during the mating process he leaves his penis inside the female. During the mating ritual, the female queen flies out in search of a suitable partner. A huge number of males swarm around the queen, competing for her attention. After sexual intercourse, the male's endophallus (penis) remains inside the queen to stop other males from trying to mate. After this, the male falls to the ground and awaits his death.

Will Burrard-Lucas

If you still think hippos charming despite their fierce reputation, you should definitely learn about their strange mating ritual. Due to intense competition, male hippos have developed a disgusting, but apparently effective method attract the attention of your women. When the male positions himself in terms of a potential female partner, he proceeds to defecate and urinate simultaneously. As it does this, it quickly spins its tail like a propeller, scattering its special mixture far and wide to mark its territory. After the spray of aromatherapy has caught the eye of the female (and sometimes it turns out that the male sprays the female herself), the hippopotamuses get down to business.

Francisco Valdes

White-fronted parrots or white-fronted Amazons They begin their mating season around February and end at the end of June or July. Although, this varies depending on the region. In some places, their mating season does not even begin until November. After choosing a suitable partner, the two parrots begin to kiss each other. These are very long and passionate kisses during which parrots lock their beaks and use their tongues, making these birds one of the few animals that can kiss like humans. Everything would be very nice if, during the kiss, the male did not put a secret ingredient into the partner’s mouth - his vomit.

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Scientists are sure that all living beings are characterized not only by selfishness and aggression, but also by love. At the same time, in the struggle for the attention of the opposite sex, animals, like us, are ready to use all their internal potential, becoming brighter and more talkative as the mating season approaches.

THIS IS INTERESTING

Whales are considered one of the most romantic and unusual “songbirds”. Their songs can last a whole day. The nightingale also sings from dusk to dawn for a reason, but in order to win the lady of his heart.

One more famous singer is a gibbon. This monogamous animal sings such loud songs to the bride that they can be heard over several areas.

But the mating games of dolphins are distinguished by a very beautiful dance. During this period, dolphins circle together for a long time, showing each other their strength and agility. They gently touch each other with their heads and fins, but if an opponent swims up to the pair and tries to break it up, the male immediately drives him away, strongly clattering his teeth.

ON A NOTE

When caring for each other, some animals cannot do without touching their chosen one.

In this case, elephants rub their sides, affectionately intertwine their trunks and flap their ears strongly and loudly, and the males of some species of turtles, in order to please their partner, massage her neck and head.

This type of seduction is very common in birds. True, penguins give their partners not food, but feathers as gifts. The behavior of the females, who often begin to behave like children, also becomes funny at this time.

KEEP IN MIND

It is also interesting that animal courtship has strict rules. And to any action of a male or female there must be a clear response that will allow the couple to move on or stop trying to conquer each other. This should happen until the very end, that is, before mating. One wrong move or the slightest mistake can ruin all your efforts. Let's say a male stickleback fish must continue his zigzag mating dance until the female is in the nest and begins to spawn, but even during this process the male must support her all the time, pushing her.

TURNS OUT

At the same time, many animals are ready to fight for love “not for life, but for death.” Even seemingly harmless giraffes do not give up without a fight. However, when fighting for a female, they never use their hooves, but instead actively butt with their small horns. When the stronger and luckier giraffe wins, the female allows him to approach. Then the lovers touchingly rub their necks and cheeks against each other.

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Moscow Zoo employees love to tell visitors how loyal giraffes can be. Several years ago, the capital's zoo decided to buy two South American giraffes, but the monetary equivalent exceeded a certain amount, so the sellers had to hold a competition for this “lot.” The captured giraffes, which were in different containers, were in mating season at that time. As a result, while the documents for the competition were being prepared, the animals, who missed each other, broke the boxes and ran back to the savannah, the Animal.ru portal reports.

Let's turn to mammals. Here typical examples. During courtship, a hare can hit a hare on the nose and tear out a clump of his fur with her teeth if he tries to start mating when she is not in the mood for it. Male European hamsters, being much stronger and larger than females, often die in captivity from their bites. They are unable to resist the aggressiveness of females, since they have a highly developed “knightly” instinct. The males of many dogs and related species - wolves and jackals - are also disarmed by the “knightly” instinct. Pet dog lovers know this very well. Let's give the floor to K. Lorenz: “There is one extremely sweet trait in the behavior of dogs, which was clearly early fixed in their central nervous system as a property that is inherited. I mean chivalrous treatment of females and puppies. No normal male would bite a female under any circumstances; The bitch is protected by an absolute taboo, and she can behave with the dog as she wishes and bite him, even seriously. The male dog has no means of defense at his disposal, except for respectful movements and a “gallant face”, with the help of which he can try to turn the attacks of an angry bitch into a game. A man's pride does not allow him to resort to another method - a fight, because... Males always make every effort to “save face” in the presence of a bitch.

In wolves and Greenland sled dogs with predominant wolf blood this chivalrous self-control extends to females only of their own pack, but in dogs with predominant jackal blood it acts in the presence of any female, even a complete stranger. A male chow-chow occupies an intermediate position: if he is always in the company of his female relatives, he can treat a bitch of jackal blood quite rudely, although I do not know of a case where he actually bit her." And then he continues that when on a male bitch attacks "he cannot bite or even growl, but he can approach aggressive female he is pushed by an incomparably stronger impulse, and the conflict between manhood, fear of the sharp teeth of his opponent and the strength of his sexual urges gives rise to behavior that sometimes turns into a real parody of humanity. What makes an old dog funny is mainly the playfulness, the “gallantry” that I described above. When such an animal, long past puppyhood, begins to express its love, rhythmically moving its front paws and jumping back and forth, even the least inclined observer to anthropomorphism involuntarily begins to make certain comparisons, which is facilitated by the behavior of the bitch, who, knowing that her the suitor will endure everything, behaves very arrogantly." This is remarkably accurately said, isn’t it? And what is especially interesting is that a striking analogy with human behavior is noted... We will give another short excerpt from the same source, describing the phenomenon of baiting in dogs And here K. Lorenz notes a great similarity with human behavior: “Bitches present at a meeting of males of equal strength and rank behave in a special way. Susie, the Wolf's wife, clearly wants a fight to start; She doesn’t actively help her husband, but she likes to watch him take over the other dog. She resorted to cunning tricks twice to achieve her goal. The wolf stood head to tail next to the alien dog. Susie carefully, but with great curiosity, hovered around them, but they did not pay any attention to her, since she was a bitch. Suddenly she silently but energetically bit her husband on the backside, exposed to the enemy. The wolf, believing that he, in violation of all ancient dog customs, had brazenly bitten him on the butt while sniffing, immediately attacked the blasphemer. The second dog, naturally, considered this attack as an equally unforgivable violation of the ritual, and an unusually ferocious fight ensued."

Similar examples from the lives of dogs, in connection with the striking analogy with humans, could take us far. Especially when you consider the authority of the famous ethologist who cites them. But the author of this modest work has other examples of dog behavior, which he gleaned from his own observations. I had a smart dog named Jerry, a breed very similar to a collie, with a white chest, but with a dark spotted coat and a muzzle that was not so long and narrow. In the clarification of relationships between males, he occupied a dominant position - many large male German shepherds, Dobermans, Rottweilers, and even bull terriers and Caucasian shepherds were inferior to him. He took it by force of character. But in competition for females, he preferred to give in to many of those rivals whom he knocked down in other situations. Jerry simply stood back proudly, without getting into a fight. It seemed that he despised these games and felt superior to his fellows. The bitches couldn't drag him into conflict. In a free situation, he willingly looked after the bitches and was quite successful. And the “knightly” attitude towards them was not inherent in him to a lesser extent than other males. Perhaps I did not know another person so proud and smart dog. I want to say that the example of incitement by K. Lorenz and my humble example are opposite to each other and this is their value - in opposition.

We need to note a couple more features of the mating behavior of highly organized animals that were not covered by examples. Let us briefly touch upon the phenomenon of rapid mating, observed in some birds (tree sparrows, gulls) and mammals (dogs, primates). Its essence is that a female, after mating with her male, suddenly allows other males, previously rejected, to mate with her. This phenomenon, reminiscent of an orgy, is observed even in those species where the males are very jealous, try to prevent “betrayal” and subsequently can kill a child that is not their own. The phenomenon of rapid mating has not yet found a convincing explanation. If a quick mating takes place virtually in front of the spouse, then the usual “betrayal” of partners to each other occurs “on the side.” Although the male sex, as a rule, is more active in this matter, the female sex also does not remain in debt. And as a result, females of many “socially monogamous” species (living in permanent pairs) give birth to offspring from different fathers. This appears to be more beneficial in terms of genetic diversity. The second phenomenon that is worthy of mention is incentive mating. It was noticed in birds of prey and non-human primates, which have developed group mating. The female holds the male for her own purposes and stimulates him to obtain food, seize territory, rewarding him with permission to mate with her. In this case, a direct relationship is observed: the more the male pleases the female, the more she pleases him with “access to the body.” In fact, it can be called animal prostitution.

All of the above features of mating behavior and sexual selection are controlled by basic instincts that ensure the vital activity of individual individuals and intraspecific balance. These instincts are biologically expedient, for example: there is no doubt about the expediency of sexual desire, which ensures reproduction; Aggression is advisable, which allows maintaining high viability of the species. But there are trends that clearly lead to a dead end. Unilaterally directed sexual selection, when a female prefers an aggressive male, which is facilitated by the phenomenon of baiting males, leads to a gradual increase in the aggressiveness of the species, and this is not the best adaptation for existence and does not contribute to the development of in a good way words. As K. Lorenz notes: “This possibility should worry us, because - as we will see later - similar considerations apply to the evolutionary development of the instinct of aggression in humans.”

So the majority famous examples illustrates sexual asymmetry and confirms the thesis that in marital relations males are exposed to greater dangers than women. And these dangers come from rival males and from desirable females. One should not, of course, exaggerate this fact. For the more highly developed a species is, the more inclined it is to take care of its offspring, the more noticeable is the following tendency: completely useless males are left without females. But this is only on average and depending on the specific living conditions of a given species and the existing hierarchy of relationships. IN unfavorable conditions, for example, with a lack of food, with overcrowding in small territory or under the influence of other stress factors, the hierarchy can become stricter, males can suppress rivals more aggressively, and in some animal species males are even capable of showing aggressiveness and cruelty towards the female and cubs. There are known facts when canine males kill their female, destroy the nest and break the clutch; a male kangaroo in a state of sexual arousal can kill the female and cubs; a male camel during a female's heat bites everyone, including her; male brown bear can tear apart a female and her cubs (this fact is mentioned in the famous story by G.A. Fedoseev " Evil spirit Yambuya"). These cases can be attributed to violations of marital behavior caused by unfavorable circumstances.

There is also such a phenomenon as the aggressiveness of adult males towards cubs, especially strangers. We have already briefly mentioned that in some species of highly organized animals (even primates), a male can kill someone else's baby. U African lions it's even a law. And females of many species, except lions, try to protect their cubs or develop behavior that misleads males about true paternity.

MALE AND FEMALE. DANGERS OF MARRIAGE RELATIONS. V.Yu.Skosar, Dnepropetrovsk