Weird Animal Love Rituals on ‘Ang Pinaka’

The expression “the birds and the bees” have long been used to help explain human courtship and reproduction in easier terms.  But how do birds, bees, and other animals “do it,” exactly? GMA News TV’s program “Ang Pinaka” took a peek into the most unique mating habits of some animals in its countdown of the Top 10 “Ang Pinaka: Weird Animal Love Rituals.”   The countdown featured the bizarre ways animals choose their mate and procreate, ranging from the dirty, involving urine and feces; to the more violent, where limbs and lives are lost.   The following experts on animal behaviour joined the “Ang Pinaka” panel for this episode:

• Noel Rafael - curator of the Avilon Wildlife Foundation, Inc.
• Dr. Rizalina Zunio - senior veterinarian at Vets in Practice
• Marivene Manuel-Santos - museum curator, Zoology Division of the National Museum of the Philippines

Scroll down to discover the things some animals have to go through in the name of love: # 10 Red Ants: Fatal Attraction Ants are highly social insects that form organized colonies consisting of workers, soldiers, and one or two queens.  According to Marivene Manuel-Santos, the queen ant’s only purpose is to lay eggs. “Yang queen na yan, parang egg laying machine. Walang ginagawa kundi mangitlog para dumami ang species,” she said.   Weird Love Ritual:  Some worker ants referred to as drones take on the sole purpose of impregnating the queen. But these dudes aren’t so lucky after all, as mating with the queen is equivalent to a death sentence.  After the mating ritual, a part of the drones’ penis snaps off and is left inside the queen.  Noel Rafael explains: “Pagkatapos ng function nila wala na silang ibang function its either pagkain na lang sila ng lizards at iba pang insect-eating animals or mamamatay na lang sila.” # 9 Spotted Hyena: The Dominatrix These mammals are the most common large carnivore found in Africa. They operate in packs, where the female hyenas are more aggressive than their male counterparts. The males are tasked with the brunt of the work in the pack, such as hunting for food and protecting the young. Weird Love Ritual: According to Rafael, there is no courtship in the world of hyenas and it is mainly the female who calls all the shots.  “Yung mga lalake, sila yung nagbo-bow down doon sa queen at yung queen ang pipili kung sino yung worthy na lalake na makikipag-mate sa [kanya],” he said. # 8 Hippopotamus: Down and Dirty The hippopotamus, which means “river horse,” is the third largest herbivorous land mammal next to the elephant and rhinoceros.  Despite their size, Rafael explained that they are actually graceful underwater. “Buoyant sila sa tubig, so [ang] mating nila ganoon rin ka-graceful underwater,” he said.   Weird Love Ritual:  Large hippos mate underwater so that the buoyancy of the water minimizes the weight of the male when it mounts the female.  Aside from this reason, it’s probably a good thing that hippos take the action underwater, because their unique courtship ritual tends to make them filthy and smelly. The male hippo urinates and defecates on himself, emitting pheromones released together with the urine and feces and thereby attracting the female.  Once the male hippo gets the target on lock, he would proceed to spinning his tail like a propeller to splash urine and feces towards the female.    # 7 Black Widow: Femme Fatale Black widow spiders derive half its name from its body markings; it is predominantly black with an hourglass-shaped red mark on its abdomen.  The other more ominous half is because they become ‘widows’ after mating. Weird Love Ritual:  During mating, the male appendage snaps off inside the female.  Then, the female proceeds to wrap the injured male in a web to make sure it’s totally incapacitated.  The female would then inject venom that would partially digest the male’s insides.  Rafael explains this behavior as the male’s way of ensuring that all his genes have been passed on to its offspring and that the female has nourishment in the form of a lovely slushy. “So parang nagiging shake, saka niya iyon i-insert-an ng parang straw [called] a proboscis at sisipsipsin niya iyon,” he said. “So, literally umiinom [yung female] ng protein shake.” # 6 Porcupine: One (Long) Night Stand The porcupine is a species of rodent with a coat of sharp spines or ‘quills’ that serve as a defensive shield against predators.  When mating, porcupines face each other belly-to-belly to avoid hurting one another.  But before both can relax their quills, the male has to perform a courtship dance of sorts. Weird Love Ritual:  To attract a female porcupine, the male would relax its quills and shake them in a graceful dance. Once he has the lady’s attention, he would proceed to spraying a stream of urine towards the female.  Just like the hippo, the porcupine relies on the pheromones found in urine to lure the female. Once the porcupine couple has finished copulating for about eight to 12 hours, they will go their separate ways. “After noon, parang hindi na uli sila magkakilala. Nakaamba na uli yung quills nila sa isa’t isa,” Rafael said. # 5 Praying Mantis:  Killer Kind of Love Despite its “holy” appearance, with its forelegs grasping each other in a prayer-like stance, the praying mantis is a highly predatory insect that feeds on other insects, including its own mate. Weird Love Ritual:  The mantis love ritual is similar to the black widow spider’s; the only difference is that the female chews on her partner while mating! “Makikita mo, nakaangkla ‘yung lalake wala nang ulo wala nang kamay pero nandoon pa rin siya hanggang unti-unti siyang mawala,” Santos said.  Just like the spider, the male mantis does this to make sure his genes are passed on and that the female does not go hungry. “Sobrang dedicated na ama ng mga praying mantis, ine-ensure [nila] na magiging healthy yung mga anak [nila],” Rafael said. # 4 Clownfish:  Role-playing Maven The bright orange and white clownfish became popular because of the animated film “Finding Nemo.” The movie, however, made no mention of the fact that clownfish are sequential hermaphrodites, born first as males then mature into females. Weird Love Ritual:  Clownfish would assess if the water quality is ideal for breeding.  It is at this time that the largest clownfish in an all-male group would morph into the female.  In case this female dies, the second largest male would take on the “mommy” duties by morphing into a female.  Santos said this could be the flaw in the movie “Finding Nemo.” “‘Yung daddy [ni Nemo] naging mommy dapat hindi dad, supposedly mommy na iyon dahil nagchange na siya ng [gender],” he said. # 3 Octopus:  So Into You An octopus is a cephalopod mollusk that has two eyes and four pairs of arms or tentacles.  These tentacles serve a very special purpose when mating. Weird Love Ritual:  When the male octopus finds a mate, it reaches out to the female and inserts one of its tentacles in the reproductive cavity of the female. The male breaks off his arm, now called the hectocotylus containing the sperm, leaving it inside of the female. When the male swims away to look for food, another male octopus can sneak in and make his move on the female.  “Sasalisi yung ibang male, kailangan niyang tanggalin lahat ng sperm nung previous male tatanggalin niya pa yung mga sperm na nakabaon doon sa female,” said Dr. Zunio. # 2 Snails:  Cupid’s Arrow Snails are hermaphrodites with both female and male reproductive organs.  However, they still need a partner to breed as they cannot self-fertilize.  Their genitals are located near their necks, right behind their long eye stalks. Weird Love Ritual:  Mating season for snails can be like a battlefield, as snails shoot out ‘love darts’ targeting each other’s necks.  They spew out calcium-enriched darts that give the shooter’s sperm a higher chance of being stored in the target’s uterus.   This ritual may endanger the target’s life. “Siyempre hindi naman sila sharp shooter.  Calcium iyon, matigas. Minsan may tatamaan sa mata. Bulag na yung snail na babae pero hindi naman niya ikinamamatay,” Santos said.   # 1 Anglerfish: Together Forever The anglerfish is a deep sea creature with a light bulb-like growth on its head that serves as bait to lure in other fish that the angler preys on for food. Weird Love Ritual:  Scientists were once baffled by the absence of a male anglerfish. They eventually found out that the male is born without its own digestive system and can’t feed on its own, so a newly-hatched male anglerfish seeks out a female and bite onto its back to attach himself to the female.   Once the male infuses himself with the female, it atrophies within hours and dies.  The female absorbs all the nutrients and sperm of the male throughout its lifetime.   Rafael explained that when it’s time for the female to release an egg, sperm will be released from the male automatically. In a way, the female literally carries around her dead ‘husband’ for eternity.  And take note: several male anglerfish can attach themselves onto a single female. - Ang Pinaka Staff/Ces Vitan/CM, GMA News