Facts About The Weird And Wonderful World Of Animal Romance
A human woman might be wooed with flowers or a box of chocolates, but she likely wouldn't look too kindly on a date showing up at the door with a basket of shiny glass bits or a giant, inflated red nose. She’d probably be even less into being peed on, or a date asking her to pee in his mouth so he can taste if she's in heat. But in the animal kingdom, certain creatures would find these behaviors irresistible! Here are 41 of the most bizarre and fascinating facts about animal courtship and mating.
Animal Romance Facts
41. She’s Gotta Have It!
Female ferrets ovulate 30-40 hours after copulation, and if they don’t copulate, oestrus (what we call “being in heat”) can last for the rest of the breeding season. Their estrogen levels will rise, which can cause anemia, hemorrhage, and even death. If females don’t mate once a year, they can literally die!
40. Love Chain
Sea hares—a type of hermaphroditic sea slug—are the '70s swingers of the sea. When mating, they flock together in groups and form chains of animals all engaged in coitus. Each sea hare has both male and female genitals—the sea hare in front of the chain functions solely as a female, while the sea hare behind her functions as a male, but that one functions as a female to the sea hare behind it, and so on. These chains of male/female sea hare chains can mate for hours and yield millions of eggs.
39. Size Matters
Barnacles may be puny, but they have the longest penises in relation to their body size of any creature found in nature—the inflatable barnacle penis can be up to eight times the length of the animal’s body. While barnacles are technically hermaphroditic, they need to find a partner to reproduce, and they tend to act specifically as either male or female. They live in shells permanently glued to rocks or boat hulls, so instead of venturing out into dangerous waters they send only their reproductive organs. A "male" barnacle can detect a nearby "female" and send out his stretchy penis to do the job while he himself stays put.
_group,_Irvine.jpg){kind=link}