posted March 12, 2011 05:05 AM            

IF MUSIC BE THE FOOD OF LOVE....

The Tungara is the John Prescott of the animal kingdom - a fat and ugly frog that swells up like a balloon and bellows loud croaks to attract a mate.

Females choose males on the basis of the best calls - which, contrary to conventional wisdom, are not always the loudest or the deepest, or most complex.

Each female appears to prefer a unique sound, hard-wired into her sensory system.

It's up to the males to try to find the perfect pitch to seduce her with. The lesson for humans? If your prospective partner prefers Beyoncé to Beethoven, don't try wooing her with classical music just because you think it would make you seem more sophisticated.

Find out what she likes - then stick to it.

posted March 12, 2011 05:06 AM            

The more successful a male Wolf Spider is at finding food, the darker his legs become.
As proof of his prowess, he holds these legs up in front of a prospective female mate, and makes rumbling noises. You would have thought, therefore, that the female always selects a partner with the darkest legs she can find. But she doesn't.

She ignores beautiful black legs and judges only on enthusiasm. The more times the male ***** his legs the more alluring he becomes, whatever the colour.

The lesson here? On the dance floor enthusiasm is more important than good looks.

posted March 12, 2011 05:07 AM            

Proof that he's fallen head over paws in love? No, simply that the clever female has drugged him.

She produces hormones in her urine that he finds intoxicating. Something in his brain is triggered by the scent, and he becomes her slave, working to exhaustion.
Sound familiar? It should do. Because love is a drug for humans, too. When we fall in love, our brains swim with opioids - a natural intoxicant from the same class of chemical as heroin - and similarly addictive.

posted March 12, 2011 05:07 AM            

Gorillas, mighty as they are, are endowed with only one and a half inches. Lions, which mate up to a hundred times a day, have only a little stump to work with.

But we are still tiny compared to some animals. The blue whale has an eight footer - big by any standards.

But the record should go to... the tiny barnacle who can extend his appendage to reach a mate from a distance several times his own body size.

Perhaps, though, before we get too obsessed by size, we should remember the anglerfish. The male anglerfish is tiny compared to the female - not much more than a little worm.

posted March 12, 2011 05:08 AM            

Dolphins seem to be addicted to love. They are constantly nuzzling and staring into each other’s eyes.

So much so that their amorous ways are often an embarrassment to their keepers.

In California’s Marine World Africa U.S.A.,
two dolphins, Pan and Delphi, like using a mirror when making love — up to 43 times in half an hour.

If they drift away from the mirror, they stop, go back where they can see themselves and continue.
Bonobos — a type of chimpanzee that is our nearest living ancestor — are even more embarrassing, taking lovemaking
to extremes that would make a footballer blush.
Anyone and everyone is at it. In Bonobo groups, lovemaking is a social currency, like a handshake or sharing a cup of coffee.
But nevertheless, there is something
of a sex addiction there.

posted August 01, 2011 03:23 AM            

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I believe in the compelling power of love. I do not understand it. I believe it to be the most fragrant blossom of all this thorny existence.

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