Mating in animals

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Copulation is a sexual act in animals in which a male penetrates his genitals into the body of a female, especially directly penetrating her genital tract to transfer his sperm into her body . This is an aspect of mating behavior , which is the contact of the male’s external genitals with the female’s genitals, for fertilization, that occurs in non-human animals, the definition in this context excluding humans (because it is considered in the concept of sexual intercourse ).

Many aquatic animals use external fertilization , while internal fertilization probably evolved from the need to maintain gametes in water during the Late Ordovician . Internal fertilization in many vertebrates (such as reptiles , some fish , and most birds) occurs through penetration of the cloaca , known as hemipenis (see hemipenis ), while mammals copulate through direct penetration of the penis into the vagina, and many vertebrates sexually reproduce with external fertilization.

Scientific evidence is also emerging that animals also experience orgasm , looking at sex that doesn’t result in pregnancy, such as between two males, between two females, or outside of breeding season. If animals have sex more often than is necessary to get pregnant, that could be evidence that they’re having sex for pleasure rather than procreation. A female lion can have sex 100 times a day for a week with multiple males. Another way to tell if they’re having sex for pleasure is whether they’re having orgasms.

Overview

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In animals , copulation almost always occurs during estrus (the period when females are most fertile) ^{[ 1 ] [ 2 ]} to increase the chances of conception . However, dolphins ^[ 3 ] and chimpanzees are known to have sex even when females are not in estrus and engage in homosexual behavior. ^[ 4 ] In most cases, humans have sex primarily for pleasure. Sex in both species is also considered to be for pleasure ^[ 5 ] which provides bonding between them.

Humans , chimpanzees ^[ 6 ] , and especially dolphins are species that engage in sexual behavior not only for the purpose of procreation but also for pleasure. All three species have heterosexual sexual habits even when females are not in estrus ( ovulation), that is, the time in the female’s reproductive cycle when conception rates are highest. Similarly, all three species have homosexual sexual habits. ^[ 4 ]

Humans, chimpanzees, and dolphins are all intelligent animals, and the male-female cooperation of all three species demonstrates that they are much more effective than any single individual. For humans, bonobos, and dolphins, sex has additional social functions beyond the reproductive value. Perhaps sex promotes intimacy between individuals to form larger social structures. Cooperation in turn leads to the ability to perform larger collective tasks, increasing the survival rate of each individual in the group. In addition, they are all groups that practice internal fertilization .

Method

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In performing the mating ritual, most species initiate the process of fertilization internally , for this to happen, there must be a method by which the male (male, male) introduces, transfers sperm into the reproductive tract of the female (female, female) which involves the introduction of the penis or other internal organ into the vagina (in most mammals) or into the cloaca in protozoans, most reptiles, some birds, amphibians, frogs and some fish, dinosaurs, as well as in many other invertebrates. In mammals, reptiles, some birds, some fish and some other groups of animals, this is done by copulation, in which the penis or other internal organ of the male, also known as the male genitalia, is introduced (penetrated) into the female genitalia such as the vagina or cloaca.

In most birds , the cloacal method is commonly used, with two animals pressing their organs together while transferring sperm. Salamanders , spiders , some insects , and some mollusks perform internal fertilization by transferring a large number of sperm, a spermatozoa, from the male to the female. After fertilization, the embryo is produced as an egg in oviparous organisms or, in viviparous organisms, continues to develop inside the mother’s reproductive tract to be born later while still alive. In some animals, such as in sponges, fertilization is an internal mechanism .

Compared to external fertilization , internal fertilization has the advantage that terrestrial animals have reproductive organs to transport sperm from the male to the female, fertilization will occur in the female’s body, which makes the pregnancy process in the mother’s body safer. Internal fertilization will give higher fertilization efficiency because sperm and embryos will not be lost or stolen like external fertilization, the rate of hatching and birth is higher because the reproductive organs are more complete, usually animals with internal fertilization will have fewer offspring than with external fertilization, for example, higher mammals only give birth to a maximum of 9-10 offspring per litter, many species only give birth to 1-2 offspring, while species such as fish and frogs give birth to hundreds or thousands of offspring each time they are fertilized.

Species

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Animal

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The shortest mating time belongs to the antelope and elephant , each time of these two species is only 10 and 20 seconds, the time spent each time for mating of the maki monkey in Madagascar is 2 hours. However, the record belongs to the mouse , 12 hours, after mating with a female, a male mouse only lives for 5-10 days. Dolphins have high needs, they not only have sex with inanimate objects but also mate with other animals, their penis can rotate, even retract into the body, but the time a male dolphin can ejaculate is only about 12 seconds.

Every day, seals can mate with about 20 females and stick together for about 30 minutes, the mating of the seal lasts from 15-30 minutes. Seals are also known as the most violent animals to mate. The cute seals are famous for the level of torture they inflict on their mates . Cute baby seals can be crushed to death by a pack of aggressive male seals when they want to mate. When the males are horny, they become very aggressive, in some places 2/3 of the female seals have been crushed to death because of this habit. Southern elephant seals often crush the skulls of female seals with their jaws during mating, and Monk Seals are also often crushed to death by males in heat and during mating.

Among wild animals, lions have both a large body and are strong in mating. They do it continuously for a week and their penis is always ready. Male lions have sex with many different females in the pride. Lions are the species that have the longest mating time (20-40 times/day, can last up to 4 days). They spend a lot of time and effort to get pregnant, with a frequency of about 20-40 times/day and sometimes even last up to 4 days. To give birth to a lion cub, the parent lions have to mate up to 3,000 times. The record for the number of mating times belongs to the lion species, which can mate 86 times/day.

Every winter, female quolls become fierce, so the males try to mate with as many as possible. The males grab their newest mates and pin them down to mate, each mating session lasts about 3 hours, but can also last all day, because the males ejaculate many times, not only are they scratched and bitten all over their bodies, many females are killed and eaten by their fierce mates. The clitoris of female hyenas is similar in size and shape to the penis of the male, sometimes up to 17 cm long, the clitoris of the female can become erect like a penis, to have sex, the male must skillfully insert his penis into the female’s dildo.

Antechinus moles are known to mate continuously until they die of exhaustion. Males of this species mate so frantically and intensely that they die before their offspring are born. During the breeding season, each female can mate with several males, each intercourse lasting from 5-14 hours, causing the males to quickly lose strength, increase stress hormones, causing the immune system to stop working, each male of the Antechinus species when alive and healthy still produces normal sperm. However, only 2 weeks before death, this amount of sperm is released, creating an extremely intense desire for them.

Monkeys are the most advanced animals and have characteristics most similar to humans. Monkeys also have sexual positions that are similar to most other animals and humans. The main types of sexual positions in monkeys include:

• Standing style: The male holds the female from behind. The female can stand or lie down on the ground as she wishes and within reach of the male.
• Lying position: Female lies on her back, male lies or sits on top of female’s rear, face to face.
• Sitting style: Two animals sit facing each other, hugging each other. If the female is much larger than the male, she usually puts her hands on the ground for stability, the male sits on her thighs and hugs her back. Conversely, if the male is the same size or larger than the female, the male sits with his hands on the ground, the female sits on her thighs. Thus, it is the female who takes the initiative in mating with the male.

Birds

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When male pigeons are in heat, they will fly around and approach the female. After they have found a suitable spot, they will find a private place to mate. The pigeons will cuddle and kiss each other for a long time. After mating, they are an inseparable pair. When the season comes, the white-breasted parrots in Central America press their beaks together, touch their tongues many times, and when the female parrot is satisfied, the male parrot will feed her, then they mate. Penguins only mate once a year, each time lasting only 2-3 minutes, and then they will meet again the following year.

Amphibian

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In terms of mating posture, frogs are considered the best that humans cannot imitate. The male frog’s two front legs tightly hold its mate, both swim to the middle of the pond or lake, and while swimming, they mate for many hours (pair-carrying). Some people have observed them mating for more than 10 hours continuously, until the male frog ejaculates to fertilize thousands of eggs. During the breeding season, toads travel in pairs and they often mate together in a small area and then protect the eggs from enemies.

Reptile

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The Crotalus polystictus rattlesnake is a species of snake that can mate for up to 22 hours continuously, and venomous snakes have two sets of genitals. The reserve partner acts as backup if the active partner gets tired. In Canada, there is also a species of snake that biologists call “perverted”. A female snake can mate with about 100 males, they wrap around each other and relax. In garter snakes , snakes detect mates by sniffing male and female hormones. They often mate in a “group” style, meaning that many males (up to 100) wrap around a female to form a “mating ball”.

Long-tailed lizards don’t just have an extra body part, they also have half of their world’s population of males. Female long-tailed lizards can reproduce without a mate by increasing their testosterone levels. Some females pretend to be males to stimulate the fertility of other females. Green sea turtles, also known as green turtles, are famous for their group sex during breeding season.

Male crocodiles are very romantic when it comes to showing affection towards their mates. When the male crocodile is in mating season, he will approach the female and start performing a mating dance, which includes rubbing and stroking her back, blowing bubbles gently on her cheeks and swimming around her to attract her attention. Along with these gentle emotions, the male will roar and use the speed of sound to create a water show, when both are satisfied, they will make the water on their backs dance.

Fish

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Male angelfish and anglerfish have simple mating needs, the main thing is to maintain the species. Just a few hours after giving birth, the male fish will immediately find a large female fish, bite a piece of the female’s pelvic fin to cling to her and parasitize her for the rest of her life. When the male fish bites the female fish, it will secrete an enzyme, penetrate the skin and merge with the female, at this time the male fish’s sperm can enter the female’s body. Over time, all parts of the male will disappear, leaving only the testicles. Finally, the male will quickly die, leaving enough testicles for the female fish to fertilize. A female can support 6 parasitic male fish, on the female fish’s body there can be up to 8 testicle sacs.

When seahorses courtship, they wrap their tails around each other, swim around and change color to show that they are a couple. The courtship process between the male and the female can last for a few days, when the female agrees, they will form a pair of fiery dances in the ocean and the special thing is that this dance lasts up to 8 hours.

Soft body

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Snails have their genitals located right on their necks, just behind their eye stalks. This special location makes it easier for them to mate instead of leaving them somewhere under their heavy shells. Snails have both male and female reproductive organs but cannot self-fertilize. Before mating, snails shoot love arrows made of calcium into their partner’s uterus. The mucus of the arrows allows more sperm to be retained in the snail’s uterus, which means increased fertility. Hermaphrodites like snails choose love arrows before mating. It is a compound containing calcium, making it easier for their partner to receive sperm released from one of them. In particular, banana slugs have penises up to 15-20mm long, so they often get stuck in their partner’s body, sometimes causing terrible situations.

The Dana octopus uses its sharp tentacles to poke holes in its mate before using a penis-like appendage to inject sperm into the cuts. Sea hares are social animals, and can form large colonies when breeding. Just two individuals coming close to each other will cause dozens of others to latch onto them. Barnacles have a penis that is eight times their body length, and they swing up to a similar penis whenever they find one and start releasing sperm into it. If they can’t find another target within reach, they will fertilize themselves.

Insect

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The black and yellow spider lets its genitals rupture inside its partner just before attacking and eating the male. The Thomise spider, after approaching, hugging its partner tightly and ejaculating rapidly, will run away immediately. The black widow spider has a mating process that is no less horrifying. When entering the nest, the male spider will immediately vibrate his abdomen up and down to signal the female to come and signal that he is not prey. However, during orgasm, the male’s vibration frequency will change somewhat, causing the female to mistake him for prey and eat him right at the height of the love affair.

Instead of bothering to find the reproductive organs of their partner, the male bedbug rushes to the female and releases sperm into her stomach, the sperm then travels through the female bedbug’s bloodstream and enters the sperm receiving organ and the waiting ovaries. In sexual relations, the species has bad habits like beetles . That is because the male has an extremely sharp penis, so it always injures the female during mating. Chauliognathus lugubris beetles often mate in groups. What is special is that the structure of the hard shell does not affect their ability to mate. The praying mantis eats the head of its partner during mating, eating the head is an important stage during mating, because it helps the male ejaculate faster.