Love in the animal kingdom by Jessica Solomons

MATES FOR LIFE
Humans aren’t the only species that practises monogamy – here are a few examples of other creatures that pair up for life:
• Swans
Known to settle down with one partner for good, swans have become a symbol of love.
• Wolves
Wolves run in packs, but did you know that most often these packs consist of a mom, dad and their children?
• Albatrosses
Despite travelling around the world, an albatross is said to always return to its home and its chosen partner when it’s time to start a family. Sweet.

ROLE REVERSAL
It’s only recently that it’s become more acceptable for men to stay home with the kids while the women go out and earn a living. But, in the penguin world, this has always been the norm. After the female lays an egg, she gives it to the male, who keeps it safe in his brood pouch for 60 days while she swims off in search of food. When the mother arrives back, she regurgitates the food she has eaten over those two months to feed her young and lets the man venture out to sea to find something to nibble on for himself.

RULES OF ATTRACTION
Attracting a mate in the animal kingdom is not much different from our methods of finding a partner. In the same way high school girls tend to fall for the good-looking guys, so too do female peacocks choose their mates according to the size, colour and quality of their amazing tail feathers.

SWEET SONGS
These creatures woo their women with song:
• Male grasshoppers serenade their potential mate – and with 400 songs to choose from, they are usually successful in winning her over.
• The male Tungara frog uses a series of sounds to attract a mate, and the more noise they make, the more the female frogs flock to them.

LOVE HURTS
In some animal species, the female is known to maim or even kill her partner after mating.
• Praying mantis: the female bites off her partner’s head after mating.
• Black widow spider: the female will kill her lover after mating – which is how she got her name.
• Scorpion: After mating, the male scorpion whips the female scorpion with his tail only to then run off. Why? If he doesn’t, she may just kill him!