Highlights include penis fencing and long-distance friendships
The natural world rarely follows human rules, and can we blame it? Despite people’s insistence to fit animals into boxes, they usually say no to heteronormativity and anthropocentrism and yes to doing what—or who—they love. As a budding ecologist who has spent too much of their university life studying insect mating, I think it’s important to highlight some examples of love breaking boundaries for the public. Please, enjoy.
The Cannibalistic World of Praying Mantises
Cannibalism is common in the arthropod world. In fact, one could argue it’s actually the norm for most of the insects we know and love. Praying mantises do not escape this long list, but they do have an especially badass way they cannibalise their conspecifics—during sex. That’s right, by the end of a mating encounter, male mantises may actually end up headless and in the female’s stomach. In one species, the springbok mantis, this behaviour occurs 60 percent of the time. So why do mantises do it? For some species, this cannibalism is only done under scarce food conditions and may help support the female mantis and offspring survival. No matter why they show this behaviour, I support it.
Elephant Best Friends
Just like in the human world, not all love is sexual or romantic. Some are purely platonic, with certain species forming tight-knit social groupings. A beautiful example of this is elephants. Asian elephants used to be perceived as having few close relations, but a new study explains that female elephants actually form strong platonic relations with other individuals. Even better, they can maintain friendships even without seeing one another, potentially by communicating acoustically or chemically. This platonic love even extends to showing sympathy and offering comfort to herd members in distress. Something about knowing elephants have best friends warms this cold, scientific heart.
Intimate Flatworm Fencing
Our third animal takes us away from the terrestrial world and down to the ocean floor, to the mysterious flatworm. These amazing invertebrates have both male and female reproductive structures, a trait that has led to an interesting mating routine. Nicknamed ‘penis fencing’ by marine biologists, this intricate behaviour involves competing to be the sperm donor in an interaction. Some of these fights can last up to an hour, which is simply impressive. Personally, I’m curious as to which poor researcher first discovered and had to describe this behaviour… imagine submitting that for publication.
The Social Bonds of Black Vultures That Refuse to Break
Black vultures get a bad rep when all they want to do is eat some carrion and hang out. These large birds are special in that they form familial bonds that remain strong throughout their entire lives. On top of strong family bonds, black vultures may be a fairly rare example of genetic monogamy in the bird kingdom. Unlike many socially monogamous birds that will engage in extra-pair copulations, genetic studies have shown that members of these couples do not engage with other single potential mates. These vultures are a sweet example of the strong bonds we see in nature and this lonely scientist is begging you to begin appreciating them.
Examples of love, ranging from purely sexual to familial and platonic, are widely varied in the animal kingdom. This short list, which could be expanded with hundreds more examples, should show why we need to stop trying to fit the natural world into our own preconceptions of animal relationships. Wishing a Happy Valentine’s Day to all the sweet creatures out there this year!
