“But all is not chocolates and roses in the world of animal courtship.”
Looking for a unique Valentine's gift? Why not take some inspiration from the animal kingdom's weird and wonderful mating rituals.
"Gift-giving is not unique to humans. Many animals give what biologists refer to as 'nuptial gifts' to their prospective mates," Jonathan Balcombe, Ph.D., the director for animal sentience with the Humane Society Institute, told BuzzFeed over email.
Take your date out to a nice dinner.
That's what roosters do. They're basically the gentlemen of the animal kingdom. It is indeed the cock that knows how to treat a lady right.
"Roosters have a special call they make to nearby hens when they have found a tasty tidbit on the ground. Rather than eat it himself, the rooster will make this call," Balcombe said.
"Hens come running and the rooster shows what a gallant fellow he is, which might (uh-hum) carry future dividends," he said.
pirhan / Via Flickr: pirhan
But not to McDonald's. Instead, treat them to something fancy like steak and kebabs.
In a study published in PLOS One, male chimpanzees exchanged meat for sex, but the females wouldn't give it up on the first night. Instead, the females were more likely to have sex with males who bought them meat for a period of around two years. They knew how to play the playa.
Male great gray shrike birds will offer females prey impaled on sticks, according to a University of South Bohemia zoology study published in BioOne. Size matters. The bigger the prey, the more likely the females are to mate. These little guys are socially monogamous, so they're in it for the long run.
Kevin Fandre/Kevin Fandre
Use pretty wrapping paper, like Hallmark, instead of cheap newspaper.
According to research published in the journal Naturwissenschaften – The Science of Nature, male Paratrechalea ornata spiders silk-wrapped prey to entice females to mate. But the females were more likely to reject their suitors if the silk-wrapping was not visually appealing or if it was poorly constructed.
Jonathan Austin Daniels/Jonathan Austin Daniels
