6 Strange Mating Rituals in the Animal Kingdom

When love is in the air, it takes more than candle light and soft music for some animals to mate. The animal kingdom has a number of strange mating rituals where one of the partners sometimes ends up dead. Below are some of the strangest mating rituals in the animal kingdom.

Octopuses

These intelligent masters of disguise go through a lot just to secure a mate that assure their future offspring’s. During mating season, male specimens practically break of their penis, which is actually a modified arm called hectocotylus which contains their sperm and leave it with the female. Octopuses actually die shortly after mating and laying eggs so making sure that they leave offspring behind is a must.

Porcupines

People often keep away from these animals because they have spines on their bodies that can really dig in deep, but some people find them cute and even keep them as pets. When mating, porcupines start out by rubbing their nose together. Afterwards, the male stands on its hind legs and just urinates on the female. Sounds a lot like a strange fetish, but it’s natural for these prickly animals.

Angler Fish

The deep blue ocean has a number of strange animals, some of which even look like they came out of our nightmares, like the Angler Fish. Angler Fishes, which can only be found in really deep areas of the ocean, have mating rituals that resemble a scene from the movie “Alien”. The male specimen would actually attach itself to the female and dig into her skin. It then fertilizes her when she’s ready.

Red-Side Garter Snake

Although orgies are looked at as taboo in the human world, to the Red-Side Garter Snake, this is something normal when mating season comes. Getting your eggs fertilized won’t be a problem if you have multiple partners. And a female specimen of this snake can take on more than a hundred male mates in one go. When mating, they look like a giant tangled up ball of snakes.

Slugs

They may not look like much, but these animals are pretty scary when they mate, especially the females. Male slugs need to be really careful when choosing a partner. Think of it as the search for the perfect mate. This is because male slugs have huge penises, and if they don’t find a female of comparable size, she might end up biting it off.

Midge

Kissing is one way to show our affection and love to our significant other. However, in some specimen of midges, what looks like kissing is actually the female pair sucking out bodily fluids from her partner.

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AnglerFish

The ocean is a giant body of water filled with mysteries still waiting to be discovered. There are millions of species of fish that look very scary to humans. In the movie Finding Nemo, Marlin and Dory end up swimming in the dark and encounter one of the strangest looking fish in the ocean, an anglerfish. 

Anglerfishes are part of the order Lophiiformes. These fishes are boney and are named after the way they catch their prey. They use a thin fleshy growth, found on their heads, as a lure, in a method that’s very similar to angling, or even fishing. 

Anglerfish subspecies have different habitats. Some are pelagic, or they dwell in open water, while some are benthic or bottom-dwelling. Others live in deep seas and trenches and some are found on continental reefs and shelves. They are found all over the world and are even considered as a delicacy in some areas.

Anglerfishes usually have one long thread-like growth on the middle of their heads. This is called the illicium and is actually the first three bones of their spines. The filament starts to grow above the eyes and can be moved in different directions. It contains an irregular flesh growth, called the esca, at the tip. The fish uses this by wiggling it around and catching the attention of its prey, as it resembles a worm that the smaller fishes try to catch. Once the smaller fish gets close enough, the angler then jumps up and eats its prey.

Many exotic pet owners have taken a liking to keeping angle fishes as pets. Since they are salt-water fishes, a special solution is needed to ensure the water stays at the right salt and PH levels. 

Angler Fish Video

 

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