Cooperative Mating Behaviour in Sharks

Looking through some of Brian Larnder’s past post of Sexiest Animal on the Planet, I discovered this interesting article on sharks. I was surprised to learn about the advantages of male sharks engaging in teamwork to inseminate a female!

Terrifying Turtle Organs

Check out Darren Naish’s posting on Terrifying Sex Organs of Male Turtles. I believe this post coins a new phrase, “Hung like a turtle”.

Sexy Sponges

Check out this week’s Sexiest Animal on the Planet: Sponges over at the Primodial Blog. As Brian Larnder says, you’ll never look at a sponge the same way again.

Bedbugs Shoot Up Too

In follow up to Monday's post on Giant Squids Shooting Up, the behaviour of ‘injecting’ sperm directly into the female is not limited to the giants of the seas. A male bedbug of the genus Cimex uses a spike on his penis to pierce a hole through the female's back. He then ejaculates into this hole and his sperm swim around the female's blood until they reach her ovaries. The fertilized eggs then develop into embryos which are born alive in the usual manner. How and why such a system developed is a mystery.

Giant Squids Shoot Up

Living in harsh environments such as hot deserts, deep seas and high mountains means that potential mates are few and far between so when you encounter another member of your species, you have to grab the opportunity. The Giant Squid (Architeuthis) is one such animal. It lives in dark deep depths 1000m below the ocean surface. These tentacled creatures meet rarely and are even more rarely observed by humans.

These giants beasts can reach lengths of 15m (45ft) and the male delivers his load by means of a 1m (3ft) long muscular, prehensile penis. But instead of making the delivery in a conventional fashion, he actually stabs the female with his appendage and deposits sperm into the wound. A female giant squid captured off of Australia’s southern coast had sperm embedded in her arms.

This allows the female to store the sperm for long periods, a useful option since encounters with males are infrequent at these great depths. It is not clear how the female uses the sperm when she is ready to fertilize her eggs. Perhaps she reopens the wound to retrieve the souvenir he left behind or maybe hormonal cues cause sperm migrates to the surface.

A male giant squid caught off Norway in the 1950s also had sperm embedded in his skin. This seems odd but when you are a lonely animal living in a vast, empty world you have take action when a the opportunity presents itself. Shoot first, ask questions later.

Voyeuristic Sea Lions and Panda Pornography

Pornography is a human invention but there are animals who are not adverse to a little voyeurism: California sea lions are an example. They are stimulated by the sight of other sea lions having sex and given the opportunity will engage in the act after watching it.

Older males have a ‘harem’ of females who can be quite demanding. The Old Man is expected to satisfy all of their sexual needs, one at a time. They copulate for about an hour, floating just below the surface of the water and once they are done, the male hurries ashore for his next date.

Younger males watch the alpha males copulate with their females but usually can’t participate, as the older males jealously guard their females. So for the younger male, voyeurism is his only way of receiving sexual satisfaction.

Indeed, it is thought that for many vertebrate animals voyerism is ‘instructional’, especially for the males. But if animals such as these are raised in captivity, without the benefit of instruction from elders, how far will their instincts take them?

In some cases not far enough. Breeding pandas in captivity has been historically difficult, so in recent years some conservationists have taken novel measures to help the animals along.

In Thailand's Chiang Mai Zoo, two pandas, Chuang Chuang and Lin Hui, resided quite happily (and abstinately) for four years.The pair were sent from China in the hope that the comfortable climate at the Thai zoo would be enough to set off a few sparks between the two. Zoo officials waited anxiously for the pair to warm up to each other and start a family. Finally, a first faltering, attempt was made by the couple but unfortunatly, it failed to produce offspring. The pandas, apparently having satisfied their curiousity, remained ‘friends’ and did not stike up a romantic relationship again.

Zookeepers decided that the platonic relationship needed a bit of help so they formulated a unique plan: Chuang Chuang, the six-year-old male, viewed films of other mating pandas when researchers thought he was most relaxed and receptive.

Unfortunately, panda porn didn’t work for Chuang Chuang who seems to want to keep his relationship with Lin Hui strictly platonic. And Lin Hui seemed to be daunted by the prospect since Chuang Chuang has gained some love handles. So zookeepers put Chuang Chuang on a strict diet, hoping that his new physique would turn Lin Hui’s head, but to no avail. Last month, scientists resorted to artificial insemination.

The end result? The pornography wasn’t a success, perhaps they're just not each other’s type. But maybe the miracles of modern technology will help the quest for a baby. Only time will tell.

More information:
Chiang Mai Zoo
National Geographic News

Welcome to the Secret Sex Lives of Animals

Birds do it. Bees do it. Humans do it. In fact every animal on this earth does it. But do they all do it the same way? Mating habits in the animal kingdom range from the sublime to ridiculous, but each animal, in their own unique way, accomplishes the same goal.

Welcome to the Secret Sex Lives of Animals, a weekly column on the bizarre, wonderful, colourful and sometimes shocking world of animal mating habits.

Why does a praying mantis kill her mate, sometimes before they even finish the act?
Is there an evolutionary advantage of having three sexes instead of two?
Why are dolphins so promiscuous and beavers so monogamous?

The Secret Sex Lives of Animals is published each Monday at 12:00 pm GMT.