November 2024

Hi Cadddyshackers, 

As we draw closer to the end of another roller coaster year, we thought it’s time to share something light, some fun facts you didn’t think you needed to know but will now remember forever. We’re talking about interesting, unusual facts about the sex lives of animals.

Think about it like research for those quirky and specific trivia questions, or impressive facts to pull out at a BBQ to re-spark the conversation and move away from the one liners - ‘it’s snowing somewhere’.

You’re welcome.

The wild world of sex in the animal kingdom

What prompted this month’s theme, was a recent email from a staff member, we crossed paths with many years ago. They were working from home and had just discovered that the penis of an echidna has four heads (but only two become erect at any one time).

Who better than to share the joy of such a discovery with, other than the Caddyshack team!

Straight away we thought that this was totally a blog post, and here we are.

So let’s go!

We can’t reinvent this stuff, so we acknowledge Thought.Co for the bulk of this listicle. 

Alligator erection

Penises vary widely across the animal kingdom, but a universal theme is that this organ changes size or shape before or during the act of mating, then reverts to its "usual" configuration.

That's not so for alligators. The males are endowed with permanently erect penises, layered with numerous coats of the stiff protein collagen that lurk inside their cloaca’s (chambers that contain digestive and reproductive organs), that burst out suddenly. The six-inch-long penis of an alligator isn't everted, or turned outward, by muscles, but by the application of pressure on its abdominal cavity, clearly an essential bit of reptilian foreplay. 

Kangaroo Confusion

Female kangaroos (all marsupials, for that matter) possess three vaginal tubes but only one vaginal opening, eliminating any confusion on the part of their mates. When males inseminate females, their sperm travels up either (or both) of the side tubes, and about 30 days later the tiny joey travels down the central tube, from which it slowly makes its way to its mother's pouch for the remainder of its gestation. 

Antechinus a-many

The Antechinus, a tiny, mouse like marsupial in Australia, would be almost anonymous except for one odd fact: During their brief mating season, the males of this genus copulate with females for up to 12 hours straight, stripping their bodies of vital proteins in the process and dismantling their immune systems. Shortly afterward, the exhausted males drop dead, and the females go on to bear litters with mixed paternity (different babies have different fathers). The mothers live a bit longer to nurture their young, but they usually die within the year, having had the opportunity to breed only once. 

Porcupines Pee

Once a year, male porcupines cluster around available females, fighting, biting, and scratching one another for the right to mate. The winner then climbs onto a tree branch and urinates copiously on the female, which stimulates her to go into oestrus. The rest is somewhat anticlimactic: The female folds back her quills so as not to impale her partner, and more routine insemination takes only a few seconds. 

Picky Chickens

Female chickens, or hens, tend to be smaller than roosters and often can't resist less-than-desirable males insistent on mating. After the act, though, enraged or disappointed females can eject up to 80% of the offending male's sperm, allowing for the possibility that they might then be impregnated by roosters higher up in the pecking order.

Sheep sharing the love

Homosexuality is an inherited biological trait in some members of the animal kingdom, and this can be observed among male sheep. By some estimates, almost 10 percent of rams prefer to mate with other rams rather than females. This is not an unintended result of human husbandry (hyperlinking that for a definition, such an odd word!) studies have shown that the behaviour of the sheep is reflected in a specific area of their brains, the hypothalamus, and is a hard-wired rather than learned behaviour. 

Giraffes go where?

Like humans, giraffes undergo cycles of fertility. Giraffes will sip each other’s urine, which is how they determine if a female is in heat. This time-saving technique ensures that a male won’t waste energy courting a female giraffe who is not interested or is unlikely to conceive if they do couple up. 

the Slug show

And lastly, while not an animal, slugs, are worth a mention because, brace yourself, where else can you use ‘bungee cord of mucous’ in a sentence. Despite being intersexual, slugs don’t self-fertilize, and instead seek out partners to symmetrically exchange sperm. Upon meeting, the duo will dangle themselves from a branch or overhang, intertwining their bodies while suspended from a bungee cord of mucus. Coiled into this tight embrace, each will then unfurl an iridescent blue penis from the right side of its head. The organs swell and connect, twisting into a shimmering chandelier that acts as a pulsating conduit for sperm. Once the transfer is complete, the slugs climb back up the mucus rope or drop to the ground, where each may lay a cache of freshly-fertilized eggs.

Not sure what our favourite part is, the bungee cord of mucous, the blue penis coming from its head or the shimmering chandelier of sperm.

This video is as mesmerizing as it is a bit icky. Sorry, not sorry!

Want more?

Isn’t the world is an amazing place?!

Hope you have learnt something new (we have) and you can use these to break the ice and start an interesting conversation.

You can read more interesting and unusual animal sex facts in this ThoughtCo. article.

Do you know something we haven’t mentioned? Slide into our DMs and let us know!

What we are loving right now

Keeping to theme, we are loving reading through the ThoughtCo. education resource.

Check it out and keep learning!

Peace, Love & Protection

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