Giraffe

Giraffes are the tallest mammals on Earth, with their legs alone are taller than many humans at about 6 feet. Not only that, they give birth standing up, with their young falling more than 5 feet to the ground at birth! Now that’s a way to say hello to the world... by smacking into it! :p

Male giraffes are ready to mate around the age of 6 however due to the way in which the stronger, more mature bulls get to mate first, it’s not uncommon to see them in their double digits before they have a chance to charm a lady. Alternatively females are ready to mate around the age of 4.

Typically giraffes will go into estrous during a rainy season when food is abundant and stress is low.  The estrous cycle for a giraffe is around 14.7 days with regular ovarian cycles prior to conception. Adult males tend to associate, and sexually investigate, females when they are cycling. Males will taste the urine of a female to judge how much estrus is in their urine and whether they are ready for mating. The courting rituals include gentle rubbing of their necks on each other.

The conception time is approximately 15 months, with cows only having one calf at a time. The mother stands while in labour and delivers her calf standing up, with it falling several feet. The thick sac protecting the calf at birth prevents it from being harmed. The offspring can weigh up to 70kg and stand 6 feet tall when born.

Unfortunately the presence of a calf acts as a threat to the herd, attracting more predators than usual. It’s because of this that only a quarter of the calves make to do adulthood. Young giraffe feed off the milk of their mother for the first year but they will feed from grass and low lying leaves from tree at around the two month mark.

FUN FACT! A giraffe's feet are the size of a dinner plate—approximately 12 inches across. Females use their hooves as weapons to protect their young. They are strong enough to kill a lion, the giraffe's only predator aside from humans.

Juvenile and two adults

Anonymous

Giraffe’s running

Anonymous

Reference

Bercovitch, F.B., Bashaw, M.J. & del Castillo, S.M. 2006, "Sociosexual behavior, male mating tactics, and the reproductive cycle of giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis", Hormones and Behavior, vol. 50, no. 2, pp. 314-321.

Praying Mantis

 The Praying mantis has always been popularly known by the cannibalistic act of the lovely lady eating the head of her hopeful prince in waiting. Unfortunately it’s still unclear after several research cases as to exactly why she tends to feast upon the head of her mate.

Lucky for the male mantis, engaging in copulation with the female does not mean that this will be his final act in life. The female mantis won’t always devour the male, so he does have a chance of escaping if he can execute his mantis ninja skills to escape the wrath of the hungry female.

The male mantis would display that he has recognized the female visually and he then proceeds to try and court her through concealment rather than a front on approach through display. He would attempt to execute a very stealthy approach, sneaking around behind her and freezing whenever she would look towards him. Providing he was able to get into position a few inches away from her, he would leap on to her back and copulation will begin. It’s until this point that it appears as if the females take no part in the courtship.

The other outcome is not a bliss for the male. If he is spotted by the female she will prey on him like the opportunistic hunter she is, seeing him as a prey organism. The concealment approach doesn't always work and generally the male will only be attacked if he approaches her front on. When she attacks him, she reaches out and grasps the font of his body and begins to eat him. Chances of escape for the males are minimal and it’s not until a specific nerve cord is severed that his body will begin to undergo strong circling movements to bring his body in line with hers and begin copulation.

In the end the male’s body may eventually be completely consumed, but a successful copulation had occurred. Perhaps for the male mantis, being cannibalised may not be a bad way to go. He may die happily in bliss, or in excruciating pain from being eaten alive. As for the female, she gets a delicious meal from it, who could complain!

Female mantis preying on a male

Oliver Koemmerling

Orchid Mantis

Anonymous 

Reference

Loxton, R.G. 1979, "On display behaviour and courtship in the praying mantis Ephestiasula amoena (Bolivar)", Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 103-110.