The Shortest Animal Mating Times in the World and the Difference of Over 5700 Times
We all know that the world is full of wonders, the author has previously talked about the two animals with the longest mating times in the world, one is the Tibetan antelope with the longest mating period, which takes about 21 days to complete, and the other is the South Polar Skua, which can last for about 8 hours.
Although it is 'strange', it does have its existence. For animals, whether it is the choice of mating method or the length of mating time, is for the transfer of excellent genes. After all, the purpose of mating is to reproduce.
Now the author will talk about the two animals with the shortest mating times, and analyze why such phenomena exist.
Animals with the shortest mating times
There are many animals with the shortest mating times, such as common poultry such as chickens, ducks and geese, which belong to the short category. However, the two mammals below also count in seconds, one of which is surprisingly 5700 times different from the South Polar Skua.
1. Tibetan antelope
The Tibetan antelope is a bovine Tibetan antelope species, a national first-class protected animal in China, mainly living in the Qinghai Plateau's altitudes of about 4000 meters grasslands, meadows and high cold deserts, the adult male body length is 1.35 meters, shoulder height 0.8 meters, weight is about 45-60 kilograms, and the female body is slightly smaller.
Due to their timid nature, Tibetan antelopes usually choose to forage in the early and late evenings, and to avoid the attacks of wolves and other predators, they have developed a good running ability, with a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour. In some complex areas, they can even run faster than cars. In addition, to adapt to the harsh environment of the Qinghai Plateau, with low oxygen and strong winds, Tibetan antelopes often hide in rock crevices, and sometimes dig small pits on open ground to hide themselves, which can not only avoid sandstorms but also detect enemies and prepare for escape.
Every winter, at the end and beginning of spring (around December), is the Tibetan antelope's mating season, at this time most male Tibetan antelopes are in a relatively excited state, appetite reduced and emaciated, with an average of about 10 to 20 female Tibetan antelopes, in order to prevent even a female Tibetan antelope from running away or being stolen by other male Tibetan antelopes, male Tibetan antelopes will use various methods to keep female Tibetan antelopes in custody, including but not limited to standing guard by the female, and fighting with other antelopes, to defend their mating rights.
However, it is worth noting that Tibetan antelopes choose to mate and give birth to young in winter and spring, and travel thousands of miles to Kangxi River to give birth to cubs, which just arrived in summer, not only does the grass and water are abundant, but Kangxi River is also relatively safe from predators, making it easier for cubs to survive. However, every year around December and January, the Qinghai Plateau is the coldest month of the year, with low oxygen and short food supply, so adult male Tibetan antelopes need to fight for mating rights before mating to obtain mating rights. It is obvious that the fight is to win the female Tibetan antelope's mating right.
However, due to various environmental restrictions, Tibetan antelope's mating time is very short, only about 5 seconds, but in order to ensure that excellent genes can be successfully passed on, Tibetan antelope's mating period is very long, up to 21 days, meaning that Tibetan antelope will use 'mass sampling' method to mate every day, this is obviously a quality issue that relies on quantity to compensate for insufficient quality.
2. Long-necked giraffe
Giraffes are ruminant odd-toed ungulates that live in Africa, and are the tallest living animals in the world. Adult giraffes can reach 4-8 meters (2-3 stories high, female body is slightly smaller), with a weight of about 1400-2000 kilograms. Newborn calves can stand up and move freely within 30 minutes, and strong adult giraffes rarely have enemies except for old, sick, and weak giraffes, which are often hunted by lions, cheetahs and hyenas.
From the giraffe's habitat point of view, it is mainly the tropical sparse tree grassland, and the trees in this area are mostly umbrella-shaped, with leaves concentrated on the upper layer, so the longer-necked giraffe has more food, and the shorter-necked giraffe cannot obtain more food, so it gradually been eliminated in nature, and in the natural law of 'survival of the fittest', the giraffes with long necks have gradually become the 'leg above is a neck' popular animals we see today.
The long legs and necks of giraffes make it difficult for them to drink water or sleep. When drinking water, they need to open their front legs to the side and move their back forward as much as possible. When lying down, it takes about 1 minute for an adult giraffe to stand up completely. This situation is particularly unfavorable for the giraffe's escape in the rapidly changing environment. Therefore, through long-term evolution, giraffes have sharp senses of smell and hearing, are cautious and timid, and are very thirsty, and can live without drinking water for a year if there is plenty of water in the leaves, and they sleep less and mostly stand up to sleep.
Like most mammals, giraffes also need to fight for mating rights when they are in estrus, and male giraffes often flee because of fright, so it is difficult for male giraffes to successfully complete mating, sometimes it takes several days or even without results, so the mating time of male giraffes is extremely precious, and they always rush to the topic and end the battle quickly, about 1 second.
Why do mating times vary so much?
As mentioned earlier, unlike humans, animal mating is purely for reproduction, so the mating posture and length of time are not important, what matters is to increase the chances of conception and maximize the transmission of excellent genes.
And the factors that affect the length of animal mating time are usually determined by the natural environment, because animals cannot create and use tools like humans, so they can only survive and develop by adapting to the natural environment.
