The animal kingdom has its own ideas about romance and attraction. Mating rituals of many animals differ significantly from the courtship that humans are used to. For Valentine's Day, we've studied how flirting works in the animal world.
Camels
By human standards, these animals behave quite unattractively during the mating season. On seeing a lady, the male camel begins to produce abundant saliva. It hangs from the corners of his mouth, which allows him to attract the female's attention. To impress the lady, the male can also inflate a large bubble of saliva. No female will pass by such a heartthrob!
Dolphins
These mammals know many ways to win the attention of the potential mate.
So, the male dolphins can bring gifts or perform acrobatic tricks, but if the female doesn't accept the male, dolphins can take extreme measures... They unite in small "gangs" and kidnap the female from her pack in order to force her to mate.
Hippos
The mating games of these giants are also not very romantic. After all, to attract the attention of females, hippos actively defecate in the water and then raise waves so that the pheromone scents reach the females.
If the female finds it attractive, she will approach her mate and they will splash together in the water. Only after that the couple will start making love.
Blanding's Turtles
Females can also "flirt" with the opposite sex. This is the case with Blanding's turtles.
To attract the attention of the male, the turtle, moving its body and tail, performs a peculiar dance. However, the passion does not end there. After the dance, the female jumps in the water and swims away from the gentleman and he has to catch up with his lady! And only when the female decides that the suitor has sufficiently run after her, she stops the game and allows the male to get closer to her.
Giraffes
Each mating ritual begins with the male giraffe rubbing his head against the back of the female's body, waiting for her to...urinate in his mouth. Having tasted her urine, the male decides whether the female is healthy, how fertile she is, and whether she is ready "to move to a new stage of the relationship".
The fact is that the composition of the females' urine, which are ready to mate, changes and it is a signal to the male. The giraffe will persistently pursue the lady he likes until she has sexual intercourse with him.
While mating, the giraffe hugs the female with his long neck so that she cannot get away from him.
The hooded seal
This seal uses one of the most unusual ways to "flirt." Having reached maturity and being ready to mate, the hooded seal inflates the nasal septum, turning it... into a huge red bubble.
The bubble serves not only as a signal of readiness for mating. Inflating it, males competes with each other. The one who has a bigger bubble is cooler.
Bowerbirds
The birds of this species use different ways to win the attention of the females they like, but the main one is gifts. Winged "suitors" give their female companions various objects of bright colors, including plastic (which, unfortunately, can already be found in almost every corner of our planet).
If the female appreciates the gift, the couple moves to the next step. This is an unusual mating dance, the purpose of which is to cement the success that was achieved in the struggle for the female's attention.
Flatworms (don't swipe!)
These creatures are hermaphrodites – they have both female and male reproductive organs. Of course, this affects their mating games.
Their main element is wrestling. The winner inseminates the loser. This is very important for worms. A pregnant creature has to constantly take care of its safety and finding food for itself and its offspring. The other worm, on the other hand, doesn't have all these worries and continues to live its usual life.
Source: pets.mail
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