Animal Valentine

 Valentine's Day. A day of love and romance; From buying your loved one gifts and taking them to dinner. But the truth is this ritual is not just limited to humans. All species have a certain way to get a girlfriend. From avians and insects to mammals and fish, all species great and small have their own special way to get.. a mate. We start this with one of the most romantic animals out there. The penguin.

When mating season survives, each male goes out to the very rocky beach and sorts through it to pick the perfect stone to give to their mate. If she accepts the stone they will remain partners for life. This is especially cute considering it's like a proposal. And if one of the mates dies they will never date another.

    The next animal who does grand gestures for love is the White spotted Pufferfish. These fish will swim to the bottom of the ocean and make very intricate designs in the sand to attract a mate. These patterns most of the time are very very complex with intricate details and patterns. Then once they are complete, the female will swim down and decide whether or not they will say yes. If they do, they go on and live a happy life together forever.

    The next animal is a bird called Vogelkop Lophorina, who when mating season arrives they will fly through the rain forest to find a mate and when they do they flip up a hood like thing around their neck which is pitch black but has a small iridescent blue crescent. Once they pop that up they start dancing. Yes, they start throwing it back until the girl eventually says yes. Another bird who uses a similar technique is the peacock and ostrich but they don't have a special flap; they just use their tail feathers and wings to dance.

 The peacock jumping spider who when they see a potential mate they lift up their abdomen to dispel an array of bright colors and, like peacocks, will start shaking it and dancing.  If the female accepts, they are happy. If she doesn't like his dance, she will proceed to bite off his head and eat his corpse. 

Wolves all grow up in the same family/den until about 2-3 but they have a choice at that age. They can either stay with their family or they go out to make a new pack. Most decide to stay but a few set out. The ones who set out are never allowed back into their family den if they find a wolf who also set out they are together forever but if they don't they risk a life of solitude away from friends and family.

      In conclusion, there is always risk in whatever you do and from animal to man- we all have unique ways to get girls. So anytime you want to pull, put on a pair of your most sparkly pants, make a very unique art work, and start throwing it back like there is no tomorrow. Or you know, just get them some flowers and some chocolate. Either way works. 

Happy Valentines or Galentines and a Merry New Year.