“Meet the power couples of the animal kingdom”
The quest for companionship and procreation in the animal kingdom has a lot of unique and intriguing ways in which they engage in their mating behaviors. From fusing together to eventually dying after the act of making love. So, let’s not waste time and let’s get to know the weird ways other species find their true love:
The Parasitic Lover of a Female Angler Fish
First on our list is a fish from the deepest part of our ocean—the “Angler Fish.” This type of fish is from the deep and is an opportunistic hunter. They hunt with their bioluminescent lure to attract unsuspecting prey, as well as to navigate the darkest depths of the yet undiscovered ocean floors.
How Angler Fish Mates?
A female angler fish releases a scent of pheromones to attract males simply because their masculine counterparts are mostly blind. Often smaller than the females, male angler fish quickly attach themselves to the female’s bellies with their unique set of teeth, further fusing their tissues. This fusion allows the male angler fish to be fed by the female by having a direct supply of nutrients from the connected bloodstream. The male angler fish then becomes a permanent parasite of the female angler fish, and will gradually lose all of its organs, becoming one with the female, forever!
The Ballad of the Gibbons
“What is that wonderful music?,” thought the single gibbon during Valentine’s Day. Predominantly found in Southeast Asia, gibbons are medium-sized apes with slender lightweight bodies and long arms that they use to swing from one tree to another. But one feature that the gibbon is known for is their song to warn or to potentially find their soulmate.
Serenades of Love
Gibbons are monogamous pairs, which means they form a long-term relationship with a single mate. This kind of relationship often lasts roughly a year, but in some cases, it can be for life. The most known feature of a gibbon is its vocal duets. The gibbons sing together and perform a coordinated duet to strengthen their bonds, especially during their courtship period where the pair would spend time together singing and grooming each other.
The Sleepy Shingleback Lizards
Shingleback Lizards, also known as sleepy lizards, are endemic in Australia. With their short and wide-stumpy tails similar to their heads, they often confuse predators which is which. Covered in rough scales and a notable blue tongue, these reptiles inhabit areas with plenty of ground cover, such as shrublands, eucalyptus forests, desert grasslands, and sandy dunes.
A Cold-blooded Monogamous Species
Like the gibbons, shinglebacks are also known for their long-term monogamous relationships. They mate year after year and continue to do so for approximately 20 years. Their courtship involves nuzzling and licking, sometimes males bite the female’s hind leg or its tail as part of their mating rituals—talk about “love bites.”
The Scavengers of the Sky
The Black Vulture’s most notable features are their featherless backhead and neck, black plumage with a short square tail, and broad wings. These birds are typically found throughout America and can be seen in forests and grasslands. Known as scavengers, vultures feed on dead animals or any leftover carcass.
Aerial Love Maneuver
To attract a potential mate, a black vulture displays various maneuvers, such as aerial chases where the male dives at the female and circles her while hissing. Amidst their dark personalities, vultures are monogamous and mate for life.
The Native Cat of Australia
The northern quoll, also known as the northern native cat or North Australian native cat, is a small carnivorous marsupial native to Australia. Mostly thrive alone as they are solitary, this marsupial do mate for life til the end of their lives, literally.
Death by Mating
Northern Quoll has a unique mating called “polygynandry” where both cats have multiple mates. But, after the ritual, the male cat usually dies because of the intense mating activities with several females. It leaves the females to raise an approximate eight babies, alone in her pouch, similar to a kangaroo.
Do you think some humans have weird and unusual mating rituals that can be compared to the peculiarity of the animal kingdom? If so, share your thoughts in the comments below
