European beavers mate for life, and remain faithful to their partners. North American beavers? Not so much. What's the reason behind this discrepancy ... and which of the two beaver species has the greater advantage?
Giant cuttlefish have some unusual mating rituals. But once they find a suitable partner, the act of knocking boots (er, tentacles?) is kind of incredible to watch.
The Japanese quail has an interesting mating strategy: the females prefer to mate with the losers of fights. Or do they? A new scientific paper on the topic makes me want to set up a quail fighting ring to find out for sure.
If you've never seen a Purple Frog before, that's in part because the amphibian does everything underground—except breed. For the first time, the mating of the Purple Frog has been captured on film, and, well, it's a bit tricky for the frogs.
As part of their management of their animals, zoos get together to create breeding recommendations for each species. But sometimes the animals have their own plans. Despite being on contraceptives, a Los Angeles Zoo hippo delivered a surprise baby on Halloween.
Narwhals grow long tusks, if they have the balls to do it. The spear at the end of the male sea unicorn has been variously thought to be a sensory organ, a device for battling other males, or an elaborate reproductive signal. New evidence shows they're the whale version of peacock feathers.
Human males try all kinds of things to seduce females. Some show off their fancy cars, some learn to play the guitar, some drive big trucks. The male Mientien tree frog scoffs at our puny human tricks. All it needs is a nice storm drain.
Before they start mating as adults, birds like the zebra finch spend their adolescence socializing with members of the opposite sex. And it turns out that their childhood friendships end up predicting how well they will do at the mating game later in life.
In certain species of spiders and insects, females kill and eat their mates after sex. But the dark fishing spider experiences a very odd twist on this gruesome tale.
You've no doubt heard that semen is nutritious, but it seems we're not the only species aware of nature's dirty little secret. Scientists have discovered that female southern bottletail squid readily — and consistently — consume the ejaculates and sperm of their mates.
A number of species engage in swarming behavior, where countless individuals move en masse in some direction. But they're not the only ones. Scientists have now found that the sperm of some squid form swarms, and this peculiar behavior could help the cells to fertilize eggs.
Evolution seems to know no bounds when it comes to shaping organisms in a way that's meant to help them survive and reproduce — a process that often leads to some pretty bizarre characteristics and behaviors. And now, thanks to the work of biologists Niclas Kolm and Göran Arnqvist, we can add another example to the…
It's rare to find fossils of animals doing anything other than, well, dying. Sure, occasionally we'll find a brooding mother with her eggs, or animals locked in mortal combat — but the vast majority of fossilized remains are simply in the midst of their death throes.
An Australian photographer claims to have snapped the world's first photograph of humpback whales making love. We can call it that now — love making, that is — based on the detailed description provided by Jason Edwards, who captured the moment off the coast of Tonga.
Male splitfins wriggle about the yellow streak on their tail as part of their mating dance. Females are attracted to the wriggling tail because it looks like their typical prey. There's only one problem: the females then forget to eat.
No, seriously. The next time you find yourself at an ostrich ranch (yes, they exist, and yes, they are everything you ever dreamed they could be and more), there's a pretty decent chance of you getting hit on by an ostrich.
If you're walking in the woods, you're probably going to get more annoyed by a loud, screeching bird call than a soft, complex birdsong. But dark-eyed juncos are just the opposite. These birds will find and fight their soft-singing peers.
Sociological research! Sometimes it involves staring at women's chests. Indeed, a recent study of 128 heterosexual Polish men has divined that fellows who are less interested in long-term relationships are more enthused by larger breasts.
Rove beetles have come up with a truly novel way to ensure monogamy. After a male has mated with a female, he injects her with a chemical that makes her smell so bad that all other prospective suitors stay away.
If koalas have any reputation at all, it's as quiet, cute marsupials that spend all their time eating eucalyptus. But male koalas unleash loud, deep yells that sound like the mating call of some massive beast. That's exactly the point.