Mating Dances Go On and On
nytimes.com
"Fairy tales never reveal exactly what happens once the prince and princess
have shaken the rice from their hair, but here's a sample of how other coupled
creatures interpret the phrase, "And they lived happily ever after":
Any time a pair of great-crested grebes reunites after a separation, the
white-cheeked, pointy-beaked water birds celebrate with an aquatic version of the
tango. As one bird dives and swims toward the other, its partner arches its back and
fluffs itself up, cat-style, until the diver bursts through the water right next to it in the
"ghost display," wings extended, body erect. The two part, plunge back under and
re- emerge with weeds clutched like roses in their beaks. Pressing their breasts
together, they rise up and begin trampling their feet on the water, heads turning back
and forth.
For the siamang gibbons of Indonesia, marital harmony requires just that. Pairs of
the shaggy black primates sing duets for 15 minutes every other day, barking,
booming and screaming in such precise sequences that it often takes newlyweds
many months to learn to make beautiful music together.
How do porcupines do it? Very carefully — and very often. Improbable as it
seems, a porcupine pair copulates every day, 365 days a year, whether it's breeding
season or not."
Keep your eyes prepared to spot a porcupine that answers to the name "Edwarda". |
