Gallery: Animal Amour
Humans aren't the only animals who engage in elaborate courtship rituals—view the gallery
Gallery: Animal Amour
- Mouse Relative to other animals, mouse courtship is fairly involved. (Or perhaps, as one of the most-studied mammals ever, we simply have a more thorough understanding of it.) Either way, it includes everything from pheromones that allow females to detect whether or not genes governing males' immune systems are compatible with their own, to ultrasonic singing by male mice... © iStockphoto/EmiSta
- Green Iguana Like Anoles, iguana courtship includes head-bobbing and flapping its dewlap (the flap of skin under its neck). As iguanas enter breeding season, males develop orange coloration over their arms and torso that may range in intensity from a dull brown to a bright, almost neon orange... © iStockphoto/Tazzy1
- Great Bustard The world's largest flying bird, the male Bustard engages in an energetic display of his chest feathers that appears to be a classic example of what scientists call "honest signaling." That is, the features of the male's feathers and display that females find most attractive directly correlate with the overall health of the male, and by extension the fitness of his genes... © iStockphoto/hanita18
- Madagascar Hissing Cockroach The males of this species of giant cockroach hiss for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is to attract a mate. By forcing air through their spiracles, or the holes through which they breathe, males generate a hiss that lady cockroaches apparently find quite fetching: in lab experiments, muted males were almost never successful at mating... © iStockphoto/David H Coder
- Alligator Beginning in April or May, depending on the onset of warm weather, alligators engage in elaborate courtship rituals that can span up to two months. Both male and female alligators will nudge one another as well as bellow and blow bubbles underwater in bouts that can last from minutes to hours... © iStockphoto/John Anderson
- Humpback Whale During breeding season, which takes place over the winter months, groups of male humpback whales will display for potential mates by singing their famously haunting songs, breaching, and performing a host of other competitive displays that depend on speed, strength and size... © iStockphoto/adwalsh
- Green Anole Green Anoles live in warm climates throughout the New World. Aside from their chameleon-like ability to change colors, the males of these small, agile lizards also possess a throat fan—known as a dewlap—which they use during territorial disputes and for courtship... © iStockphoto/walkingmoon
