makemylogic's video: Top 10 Crazy Animal Mating Rituals

animal mating rituals. In the human world, finding an appropriate mate can often take some time. While it can sometimes take just a few hours, the human mating ritual can often take weeks or months as couples go on numerous dates and get comfortable with each other. In the animal kingdom, most creatures don’t have that kind of time to spend wining and dining because most animals don’t live that long. Instead, the whole process of mating is often much more straightforward with males somehow attracting the attention of a female long enough to perform their task before moving on. Experts have spent years studying the various mating practices of the many species. In part this has been used to expand our general understanding of the animal world. Understanding mating rituals can also help experts repopulate depleted stocks of endangered species or figure out how to slow down out-of-control populations. Mating rituals are also important for us to understand how animals evolve and why some seem to be more successful at reproducing than others. In a way, many mating rituals are similar to the ones we, as humans, use in our life. Using bright colors, fancy dance moves and fighting off the competition – these are examples of mating-related acts that are found just as much in human society as in the animal world. Sure, you won’t find a bird trying to impress the ladies with his sports car and money, but there are birds that try to win over their females with gifts and extravagant structures. On the surface, it appears there isn’t a huge difference between the way we go about mating and many methods used by other animals. It isn’t all so straightforward all the time in the animal kingdom, however. We as humans are likely thankful our mating habits are fairly benign. Just be thankful we don’t follow the rituals of some spiders who eat their mate after performing the deed. Perhaps even worse, we don’t take after the praying mantis which occasionally sees the female eat the head off the male while in the act. No, we are lucky our methods evolved the way they did. That said, each of us can likely think of some rather bizarre mating rituals people have been known to undertake. In this way, again, we show we aren’t that different from some animal species who have their own weird mating rituals. The following video looks at some of the weirdest mating rituals ever observed in the animal world. Ahead you’ll find creatures of all shapes and sizes with a range of mating rituals that will make you chuckle, cringe or even look away. The diversity of these weird mating rituals really shows how various species have evolved over time – although judging by some of the rituals ahead you’ll think some animals have evolved a bit more than others. From building intricate structures, to using their best dance moves to putting on a display that defies reason, each of the following creatures definitely stands out when it comes time to find a mate. Research and Sources: Hippopotamuses http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/02/10-wild-and-wacky-animal-mating-rituals/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippopotamus Bedbugs http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bed_bug http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traumatic_insemination Praying Mantis http://insects.about.com/od/matingreproduction/f/praying-mantis-cannibalism.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_cannibalism Flatworms http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/weirdest-flatworms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penis_fencing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatworm Porcupines http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/11/porcupine_sex_mating_behaviors_involve_quills_musk_penis_spikes_fights_and.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porcupine Banana Slugs http://boingboing.net/2012/06/26/the-perilous-world-of-banana-s.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_slug http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermaphrodite Garter Snakes http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/06/140626-snakes-narcisse-animals-mating-sex-animals-world/ http://www.anapsid.org/garters2.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garter_snake Jellyfish http://berkeleysciencereview.com/jellyfish-sex-101/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jellyfish Garden Snails http://www.molluscs.at/gastropoda/index.html?/gastropoda/morphology/love_dart.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_dart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_snail http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reproductive_system_of_gastropods paper nautilus http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/octopus-chronicles/2013/05/28/unusual-offshore-octopods-argonaut-octopus-builds-a-shell-for-swimming-video/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argonaut_%28animal%29 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nautilus