10 Of The Strangest Mating Rituals

At some point in your young, young life, your parents probably spoke of the birds and the bees; and while most of us probably know exactly what that implies today, most people don’t actually know about, you know, the birds and the bees. We tend to focus on sexual relations and mating rituals for our own species unless our career is focused around animals. It is rather interesting to explore the sexuality of other beings, too. These animals, for instance, have some of the most interesting, and yet so incredibly bizarre, mating rituals of all.

Red-Sided Garter Snakes

Red-Sided Garter Snakes are tiny and incredibly poisonous, and can only found within the northernmost parts of North America. When it comes to mating, however, the little snake takes part in a mass orgy with hundreds of other snakes at once.

Argonaut

The Argonaut, which sounds like a being from a mythical fairy tale, exhibits some truly extreme mating rituals. The males mate once in their life-time, while females continue on after their first birth. When it comes to sex, the male’s tentacle is inserted into the female and then removed entirely.

Whiptail Lizard

The Whiptail Lizard is an entirely female species of lizard, so it reproduces using parthenogenesis. Their ovarian cycle will last for nearly a month, and when two of the lizards are brought together, they synchronize completely. One acts as a male, the other as a female, then they switch roles for a two-week period.

Anglerfish

The Anglerfish is quite ugly, but the rest of its species still want to mate. The male is born without a digestive system, so it must locate a female as soon as possible. They then latch on to each other, fusing together. The male is ingested by the female, who then has a permanent supply of sperm.

Bedbug

While bedbugs are some of the most annoying creatures, their mating ritual is rather fascinating. They use “traumatic insemination” to birth newborns. The male forgoes the female’s sexual organs, and simply stabs her with its sword anywhere in her body.

Giant Panda

Giant Panda have long been known for giving scientists difficult when it comes to mating in captivity. Panda porn appears to be the most effective manner to help things run smoothly, which is odd enough. This lead the population of pandas in China to double.

Clownfish

The Clownfish is quite adorable, but most people don’t realize that these tiny, colorful fish are born as both male and female at once. They have the capability of changing their gender at anytime in their lives. They can then help themselves reproduce with ease.

Giraffe

A female giraffe generally associates itself with a group of young males at one point. A few of the older males will impregnate every female in the area, though. The rest are simply there for protection and companionship.

Porcupine

The female porcupine only has an interest in sex for around 8 to 12 hours every single year. During this time period, a lucky male needs to stand on its legs and spray her with his own urine to gain attraction. They then mate until both cannot any longer.

Spotted Hyena

The Spotted Hyena is a rather odd creature, as the female has an enlarged clitoris that is capable of birthing, copulating, and urinating. This hole stretches for the male penis to enter during that time of the season, though the female remains in charge for the entire time, as they are bigger.