What A Way To Go! 10 of the Most Unfortunate Animals Who Die During Or After Their Mating Ritual

While the Earth provides us with everything needed to sustain life, it also amazes with its wonders. Birth and death is an essential part of the life cycle but some plant and animal species reproduce once and then vanish from this world. This characteristic is known as semelparity. It may sound crazy but suicidal reproduction is a regular part of some plant and animal species. Some of the mating rituals that take place claims the life of the animal, during or immediately after. These sessions can last from three hours to as long as a complete day.

#1. Labord’s chameleons of Madagascar live a fast life and die after mating

There are no other terrestrial vertebrates on this planet that have a shorter lifespan than the Labord’s chameleons. The species from the western dry forest of Madagascar have a 1 year life span. Almost 8 of these months are spent inside the egg. Once hatched, it lives for four to five months and dies immediately after reproduction. Both the females and males of the species fight each other. Even if that doesn’t cause death, the aggression releases high levels of hormones, which initially kills them.

#2. Northern Quolls live a ferocious life and die immediately after mating

Semelparity is common in the animal kingdom, but is rarely seen in mammals. The northern Quolls have a relatively short life span of only 12 months. This is because they mate themselves to death. During the breeding season, the males usually travel miles away in search of mates. This normally lessens their body weight as well as muscle mass. When they finally do mate, they mate with as many females as possible.. This is to ensure that their genes are passed on as much as possible. The males are also violent during the mating rituals. They scratch, bite and sometimes end up killing the female. Even if the male survives the day long mating process, it will only live up to a few days to weeks after.

#3. The praying mantis performs a headless mating ritual

It is in fact true that a female praying mantis devours the male’s head during or after a mating session. Not all mantis species perform this act. In an experiment conducted in 1984 with 40 pairs of mantises, only one pair performed this ritual. This is done to ensure the survival of the female. The only time a male escapes alive is by accident. Female mantises have been occasionally observed to devour their mates, sometimes completely. They often bite off the male’s head during the ritual and mate with the headless body. Though the act claims the life of the male, it is an essential part in continuing existence. The gruesome act helps the female have a better chance at fertilization.

#4. Elephant Seals who are at the brink of extinction

When we hear the word “seal”, cute baby seals are the first thing that pops up in our minds. The sad reality though, is that this species is aggressively humping its way into extinction. These marine mammals migrate back to the beach they were born and reproduce during winter. Such beaches are called “rookeries”. The mature males arrive first and start fighting each other for the best and biggest territories. The alpha males will fight off the weak and claim the largest territory. The fights are usually violent and the weakest males die from the bites and injuries. Once the females start arriving, the alpha male will stay his ground. He won’t even leave to feed himself.

A dozen or more females will mate with the alpha male and give birth to pups. Sometimes when the alpha male goes into heat, he will bite the female and sometimes mob her to death. Low flying planes can sometimes disturb the colony. This scares the adults and they rush to the water, usually crushing the pups. In order to protect marine mammals, the United States has ensured very strict laws to prevent any kind of disturbance to the colonies.

#5. Bees climax with a bang

The mating ritual of bees is interesting as well as shocking. After a colony is established, the worker bees choose their “Queen Bee” and defend her from their rivals. Once the virgin “Queen Bee” reaches adulthood, she chooses a dozen males from tens of thousands of other males within the colony. The chosen males aren’t as lucky as you think they are. During the mating process, the male bees testicles explode upon climax and the bee dies. The genital remains inside the “Queen Bee” and fertilizes her. The “Queen Bee” only requires this ritual once and she can lay up to fifteen hundred eggs per day for three years.

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